The San Francisco 49ers rolled to a 41-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11 on November 16 at State Farm Stadium, and the night also marked the return of Brock Purdy from injury.
Mac Jones had played well while Purdy was out, so there was plenty of focus on how he would respond. He delivered, completing 19 of 26 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
His return looked much different from the way he came back from injury for the September 28 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Former 49ers quarterback Steve Young shared his thoughts on Purdy’s return as the Niners secured a much-needed win after losing to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 10.
“He looks like Brock, first of all, the processing giant that he is,” Young said on the November 18 edition of “The Jim Rome Show.” “You can see he owns the data. He knows where they go with a ball. If he gets a chance to let it rip, he’s going to.
“Who he is is something we can count on, but he’s not fully functional yet. He’s not fully mobile yet. You can see, as he turns and tries to get away from trouble, he’s going to have to protect that toe for probably the rest of the season. So that limits that.”
Brock Purdy Was Vintage Brock Purdy in the 49ers’ Win
Moreover, Young wasn’t the only one to notice that Purdy looked like his old self against the Cardinals. After the win over Arizona, Christian McCaffrey spoke with reporters and shared his thoughts on Purdy’s performance.
“He was vintage, Brock,“ McCaffrey said (h/t KNBR). “Yeah, and that’s a huge compliment. He was poised, made some great plays, made some huge third-down throws, kept us in the game, was smart the whole game.
“To miss games like that is really hard, and to come back in the middle of the year. I think people just watch and like, Oh, he had a good game, whatever. But to be out that long and to come in and do what he did today is extremely impressive.”
Brock Purdy Talks About His Return
The 49ers quarterback is back for the final stretch of the season, and there’s little margin for error, considering the tight race not only in the NFC West, but the entire conference for those Wild Card spots.
Purdy spoke about his return to the field and what it meant to him to be back for this final stretch of games as the 49ers push for a playoff spot.
“It’s my first time missing that much time in a season, and for me, it was new,“ Purdy said (h/t Nick Wagoner of ESPN). “How do I handle it? … It was frustrating. I had to learn how to deal with it and mentally just take it one day at a time, one week at a time, and trust that there’s a process to this. … But overall, it felt good… I feel great now.”
San Francisco are now focusing on Week 12, and they will be facing another team that’s in the middle of a division fight of their own, the Carolina Panthers, on November 24 at Levi’s Stadium.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Steve Young Makes Feelings Clear on 49ers’ Brock Purdy Return appeared first on Heavy Sports.