The San Francisco 49ers had a strong showing to start the season at home against the New York Jets in Week 1 by containing Gang Green’s offense and finding holes in the defense.
While quarterback Brock Purdy only racked up 231 yards, the offense relied on backup running back Jordan Mason. The third-year pro rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.
That’s nearly as many attempts as Purdy had in the air.
This week, the Niners will face off against the Minnesota Vikings. The two teams faced off against each other last year in Week 7, and San Francisco lost a close one, 22-17 in the second loss of that season.
On Sunday, Purdy and Co. will be looking for their second win of this season.
Here are four bold predictions for the 49ers’ signal-caller.
1. Brock Purdy records his 1st, 2nd and 3rd touchdowns of the season
Last year, Purdy threw for 220 yards and connected twice on a pair of scores to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. While he surpassed the yardage mark, Purdy did not record a touchdown in the first game of this season against the Jets.
Do not expect Purdy to be denied, again.
Yes, running back Christian McCaffrey has been ruled out, and Mason will start in his place again. San Francisco will still have Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings and George Kittle take the field on Sunday as additional pass catchers, though.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan has too many weapons on the roster for Purdy not to find in the end zone in back-to-back weeks. Aiyuk or Samuel are both prime candidates to snag a touchdown reception in the first half.
In fact, it is not too difficult to see Purdy throwing more than one score. The Niners’ hurler recorded multiple touchdowns in nine different games including five games with three or more.
Jennings has become a stronger presence for the offense dating back to late in the season last year, and Purdy saw all of his five throws to Jennings being caught including a 22-yard grab back in Week 1.
Four different players for San Franciso tallied at least 40 yards receiving or more, too. Aiyuk was not one of those but should easily collect that much yardage for San Francisco this week.
Purdy only had two games last year without throwing a reception resulting in six points. In short, expect Purdy’s touchdown drought to end against the Vikings with him connected on a couple, at least.
2. Brock Purdy will also throw his 1st interception of the year
San Francisco’s starting quarterback made 11 such errors last season. Four of those came in the Monday night game against the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day.
However, two of them also occurred when the 49ers traveled to Minnesota last year. Brock Purdy only had one touchdown but was responsible for a pair of pick-offs by the Vikings defense.
The player for Minnesota who caught both of those interceptions was defensive back Cameron Bynum. The Vikings safety is still with the team and has backup.
A month ago, veteran cornerback Stephen Gilmore signed a one-year deal to extend his professional football career. Despite playing for his fifth different team in as many seasons, he has produced more than 30 interceptions and at least one per season since joining the NFL.
Vikings safety Harrison Smith grabbed one of the two interceptions thrown by the Giants last week. The other was run back for a touchdown by linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel.
As good as Purdy is, he is not perfect. Thus, the 49ers quarterback could make another bad throw (or two) resulting in a turnover against Minnesota.
3. San Francisco gives up at least 3 sacks in the game
Brock Purdy was sacked 28 times last year. There were only two games during the 2023 season where he did not go down for a loss.
There were nine games last season where Purdy was sacked multiple times. In Week 1 against the Jets, he went down twice more.
The Vikings recorded five sacks in their first game of the season. Linebacker Pat Jones II registered a pair of sacks and Van Ginkel added one, as well.
San Francisco’s offensive line is not weak, but it has some areas of concern. The center, Jake Brendel, is 32 years old, while veteran tackle Trent Williams just entered his 15th season in the league.
Dominick Puni, who is the starting right guard, is just a rookie. The 49ers will be without Jon Feliciano as he is on the injured reserve list, too.
These circumstances could easily lead to the 49ers’ offensive line making some costly errors.
Expect Purdy to go down multiple times again. Perhaps, three.
4. Brock Purdy throws for at least 300 yards
Finding two or more touchdowns and one interception in Brock Purdy’s stat line after the game on Sunday is not hard to imagine. Should he throw for over 300 yards, though?
While this feat only happened five times last year, Purdy also had two other games where he was close. In Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers quarterback tallied 283 yards when he went 20-of-21 and just one touchdown.
In Week 10, Purdy was four yards shy of 300 for the game. San Francisco won 34-3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars as he went 19-of-26 and a trio of touchdowns.
A year ago, Minnesota fielded the ninth-worst passing defense. It allowed almost 235 yards a game as it gave up more than 300 yards in Weeks 15 and 18 last year. The Vikings also gave up 405 yards passing to quarterback Justin Herbert during the Week 4 contest against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and JauanJennings could all easily collect 60 yards or more apiece, while fullback Kyle Juszczyk is also an X-factor and had 40 yards on two receptions, including a 34-yarder against the Jets last week.
So, is it possible for Purdy to get 300 yards or more? Yes, it is. Mason is the starting running back and the 49ers still have half a dozen targets downfield that many other teams are jealous of.
