National Football League

Niners believe in Purdy; a historic QB class? Schrager's Cheat Sheet

Updated Feb. 17, 2023 11:08 a.m. ET

Really.

The 49ers didn't rush to put a waiver claim in on Baker Mayfield. They didn't call Amazon Sports executives to see the particulars of Ryan Fitzpatrick's contract. They didn't explore Cam Newton, Drew Stanton or Josh McCown. They are rolling with Brock Purdy. They have faith in the kid and truly believe he can carry the load at quarterback. Remember, Purdy has been with the team since May, and while Jimmy Garoppolo was rehabilitating an injury in Southern California most of the off-season, it was Purdy working with the 49ers in rookie minicamp as well as training camp.

When Trey Lance went down with ankle injury in Week 2, Purdy took over the reps on the scout team. Who does he face every day? Well, the No. 1 defense in the NFL. And it's that defense that — amazingly enough — seems to have a ton of faith in him. After the win over the Dolphins on Sunday, the mood wasn't doom and gloom, but rather a respectful tone towards Jimmy G, and a positive one on Purdy. George Kittle revealed Purdy called a timeout on his own during the game (rare for a 22-year-old kid in his first NFL game), and Warner was lavish with his praise.

Are 49ers legit Super Bowl contenders with Brock Purdy at QB?

Joy Taylor says she needs to see more from San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy before the 49ers can be deemed Super Bowl contenders.

On Monday, Warner — who's seen his fair share of 49ers QBs in his short time with the team — told Rich Eisen, ""It's such an unlikely story to have 'Mr. Irrelevant' (the final pick in the NFL Draft) come in, lead the Niners to a Super Bowl. I think that's what everybody's going to write us off on, and that's fine. If that's what everyone wants the narrative to be, I'm completely fine with that. I'm so completely laser-focused, just like I know the team is, on taking this thing one week at a time. Our goal, ultimately, is the Super Bowl. We want to win that Super Bowl so badly."

And they might. Purdy doesn't need to be Josh Allen, Joe Burrow or Patrick Mahomes. He has an elite defense supporting him, arguably the most dynamic run game in the sport behind him and a head coach who just put his eggs in the Brock Purdy basket. His job — or career — isn't on the line with every bad throw or mistake he makes. Purdy's story is cool, but lost in the Mr. Irrelevant Hallmark movie stuff are some real accolades on a Big 12 team:

41 career starts, the most in Iowa State history
Most passing yards in Iowa State history
Most passing touchdowns in Iowa State history
Most passing completions in Iowa State history
Top completion percentage in Iowa State history

His coach has his back, as do his teammates. He takes over the 49ers with some legitimate swagger. Brock Purdy, the world (or at least this week's start), is yours.

Save us, Derrick

These last few weeks in Tennessee have been turbulent. A DUI from the team's offensive coordinator hours after landing in Tennessee following the Thursday night win in Green Bay was subsequently followed by a home loss to Cincinnati without Ja'Marr Chase or Joe Mixon on the field and a blowout loss to the Eagles in Week 13. Then, on Tuesday, there was the peculiar midseason firing of GM Jon Robinson, despite his team having a winning record and Robinson signing a lucrative six-year extension last year that pays him through 2027.

The move, despite early reports, was not solely based on any one thing — even A.J. Brown's incredible performance against his old team. This was a long time coming and is a combination of the communication or lack thereof in the building and some conversations around various personnel decisions over the years. There could be more, but all that is now in the past. In the present, the Titans are still the fourth seed in the AFC, and have a home playoff game firmly in their grasp. If they ever needed a win to wash away the stench of the last 20 days, it's now. And look who's on the schedule.

Derrick Henry's favorite opponent, the Jacksonville Jaguars, beckon. The stats don't lie. Henry has faced the Jaguars 11 times & has 1,143 rushing yards. He also has 14 rushing TDs vs the Jaguars, the most of any player in NFL history. Recently, he's been unstoppable in this matchup. Henry has had 130 or more rushing yards and two or more rushing touchdowns in four of his last six games against the Jaguars, and in his last two matchups against Jacksonville, he's toted the rock 55 times for 345 yards and five touchdowns.

The Titans are going through it right now. As he always seems to do, Derrick Henry may need to carry the load to get them to the other side.

A potentially legendary QB class

The 2020 NFL Draft may be forever remembered for Roger Goodell running it from his basement, Bill Belichick's dog or Kliff Kingsbury's Arizona dream home. But it also may become one of the best quarterback draft classes of all time.

In Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts, the 2020 NFL Draft has churned out four of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. With Tua and Herbert facing off on Sunday night, I think it's fair to give the gunslingers their love. All four of those starters rank in the Top 10 in touchdowns. Only two other draft classes had four different players finish a season ranked in the top 10 for touchdown passes, and both those classes are considered the very best of all time.

In 1986, the legendary '83 class had five of their quarterbacks — John Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Tony Eason and Kenny O'Brien — do it. And in 2009, the 2004 class had Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, and Matt Schaub finish in the top 10.

Tua-Herbert is fun. Burrow-Hurts feels like a potential Super Bowl matchup. All four quarterbacks have been awesome this season.

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Jalen Hurts finished with 392 total yards and four touchdowns in a win over Tennessee that improved Philadelphia's record to 11-1. Colin Cowherd says he believes in the Eagles.

Have the Vikings earned more respect than they’re getting?

It sure says something that the 10-2 Vikings are underdogs this week against the 5-7 Lions. But do the Vikings really deserve our respect? First off, it doesn't matter to them. I have spoken to multiple Vikings sources and they're all focused on stacking wins and doing everything they can to keep improving towards January. Great. And in truth, it's all kind of subjective anyway. No trophies have ever been given out for a team's placement on Power Rankings. So why the complete disregard from so many, even in light of the 49ers' QB news, when it comes to NFC contenders and the Vikings?

Well, the team's nine one-score wins without a loss right now stand as the most ever in NFL history. The Giants won seven one-score games in 2000 and lost to the Ravens in the Super Bowl. The Colts won eight one-score games in 2009 but lost in the Super Bowl to the Saints. These one-score games aren't a reason for joy in Minnesota, though, because of the way they've gone down.

The Vikings tend to let teams back into games. It's an interesting, if not odd, deal. They play with fire just enough to make it scary, then find a way to escape by the skin of their teeth. The Jets trailed by 17 points and chipped away until they cut the lead to five and got the ball into the red zone. They had four chances to topple Minnesota; they didn't. But that was the same script we've seen time and time again this season.

Week 4: Beat the Saints 28-25. Up by 6 at half, tied with 30 seconds left. Vikings hit a 47 yard field goal.
Week 5: Beat Bears 29-22. Up 21-3 with 7:23 left in first half, Bears then went on a 19-0 run. Cousins rushed in a TD with 2:30 left in the game.
Week 6: Beat Dolphins 24-16. Up 10-3 going into fourth, up 16-3 with 14 minutes left in fourth, gave up two TDs to Gesicki.

Then there are the additional factoids. The Vikings have only a plus-10 point differential in 2022, That's the lowest in the history of the sport by a team that's 10-2 or better after 12 games. They also were outscored 64-10 in their two losses — both games being played in front of national TV audiences. Lastly, they're outside the top 10 in scoring offense and scoring defense. That's not great. Minnesota's wins can't be dismissed or discredited. But if you want to disrespect them, go ahead. Las Vegas surely is this weekend.

Fun Stat of the Week

This one comes from the NFL Network research team. Brock Purdy is making his first career start, and it comes against Tom Brady.

QBs facing Tom Brady in their first career start are 0-6 all-time. Here's the list:

NYJ Luke Falk (2019),

BUF EJ Manuel (2013),

TEN Jake Locker (2012),

KC Tyler Palko (2011),

GB Matt Flynn (2010) & CLE Luke McCown (2004)

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