SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Brock Purdy started Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints, but he wasn’t accompanied by any of the San Francisco 49ers’ celebrated pass catchers or the team’s All-Pro left tackle.
The result was what you’d expect.
Purdy was hit twice on the opening series and never found a rhythm on his three possessions. A deep ball to Trent Taylor fell incomplete when the receiver seemed to break off the route. Purdy was frantically signaling to Brayden Willis to come back toward him during a broken-play scramble to the sideline, but the tight end never turned around.
The quarterback tried to work some Purdy magic on another play on which no one was open, sidestepping a defender and then throwing back across the field to tight end Eric Saubert. The result: a near interception. Purdy was 2-of-6 for 11 yards with a passer rating of 42.4 when he left the game late in the first quarter.
So why play him at all? Even his regular-season play caller, Kyle Shanahan, had the night off. He handed those duties to his assistant, Klay Kubiak, for the second straight game.
Purdy said there were things he could get out of the game that just aren’t available to him in practice. Some of those, ironically, include sharpening his mental clock to avoid getting hit and knowing how to take a hit.
“That’s the kind of stuff you can’t get in practice,” he said. “I didn’t mind it, it’s part of the game.”
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Purdy won’t have all of his weapons in Friday’s preseason finale in Las Vegas, either. Christian McCaffrey remains out with a calf injury, Jauan Jennings has an oblique issue and Brandon Aiyuk’s contract situation remains unresolved. He watched Sunday’s game in a stadium suite with his injured teammates, Shanahan said.
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Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Williams and some 49ers optimism in the nick of time
But Deebo Samuel Sr., George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk and some others who missed Sunday’s game ought to be there, and the goal will be to find a better rhythm.
“Week 1’s rolling up closer than we know it,” Purdy said. “We’ve gotta be ready for it.”
Jacob Cowing making a late push for punt returner
So that’s why they drafted Jacob Cowing.
The 49ers’ fourth-round pick was a bit of a mystery until recently. He didn’t practice much in the spring and he missed most of training camp with a hamstring strain. But he was back on the field last week and looked good in Thursday’s and Friday’s practices.
He carried that momentum into Sunday’s game. Cowing led the team in receiving yards, including a 38-yard hookup from Joshua Dobbs down the right sideline that set up San Francisco’s lone touchdown. He also added a 19-yard carry in the third quarter, the longest run of the game for the 49ers.
The 49ers envision Cowing, who ran his 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds, as a faster version of former receiver Ray-Ray McCloud, who served as Samuel’s understudy the last two seasons and who was tapped for gadget plays like end arounds and jet sweeps.
It’s notable that, like McCloud, Cowing served as the team’s punt returner Sunday, returning two punts for 19 yards with a fair catch. Most important to Shanahan and the coaching staff — there were no dicey moments on punt returns.
“First and foremost, his poise on punt returns was good to see,” Shanahan said. “He made good decisions with them.”
38-yard strike ‼️ @josh_dobbs1 x @jaycowing_#NOvsSF on FOX
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/bEyhMjUZzU— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 19, 2024
Team leans on rookies … even Tanner Mordecai
Nearly every rookie on the team had a prominent role, including running back Cody Schrader and guard Dominick Puni, who started on offense, and cornerback Renardo Green, who started on defense and was frequently matched up against the Saints’ leading receiver, Chris Olave.
The 49ers held out most of their starters and the team is particularly thin at running back with McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason, Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. dealing with injuries. Shanahan said Mason, who started the first preseason game, was dealing with hip soreness.
Even undrafted rookie quarterback Tanner Mordecai, who gets scant repetitions in practice, got into the game. Mordecai completed his first four passes in the fourth quarter before his drive bogged down and the 49ers settled for a field goal.
“He was in rhythm, on time, making good decisions,” Purdy said. “He went out there and ran our offense pretty efficiently. (I’m) pumped for him. I know it’s going to continue to boost his confidence as he plays more.”
The only rookies who didn’t contribute were receiver Ricky Pearsall (shoulder) and Guerendo (hamstring), who are out with injuries. It’s unclear whether either will return to practice this week.
Rookie QB Tanner Mordecai completed his first four passes Sunday. (Cary Edmondson / USA Today)
The top O-line starts, but it’s incomplete
The idea on Sunday was to protect Purdy with San Francisco’s starting offensive line. But that designation came with an asterisk.
The team’s top lineman, Trent Williams, is holding out for a better contract while the player who usually lines up next to him, Aaron Banks, is out with a broken pinkie finger. The 49ers hope he’ll be back by Week 1.
William’s replacement, Jaylon Moore, gave up a quarterback hit to Bryan Bresee on the first series. Nick Zakelj started in place of Banks at left guard, then moved to center — replacing Jake Brendel — when Purdy left the contest. At that point, sixth-round pick Jarrett Kingston took over at left guard. He played there through the first half, then flipped over to right guard in the second half.
49ers’ emergency punter steals the show
One concrete conclusion from preseason game No. 2: If punter Mitch Wishnowsky gets hurt during the season, the 49ers know whom to call.
Wishnowsky’s temporary replacement, Pressley Harvin III, hit three punts inside the 10-yard line against the Saints. Each of the booming punts played out in a similar way: The Saints returner figured they’d roll into the end zone for a touchback but instead bounced the other way and were downed by the 49ers. New Orleans’ average starting field position on Sunday was their own 20-yard line.
Harvin, 25, has been filling in for Wishnowsky, who is dealing with what the team described as knee irritation. Wishnowsky was in uniform Sunday and served as the team’s field-goal holder, an indication his issue isn’t serious.
Harvin spent the last three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had 75 punts downed inside the 20-yard line in that span.
(Top photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
