Steve Young knows a thing or two about keeping plays alive with his legs. The Hall of Fame quarterback from the San Francisco 49ers recently talked about current 49ers QB Brock Purdy, providing some advice based on his experiences.
Young spoke with Matt Maiocco on 49ers Talk, saying, “I think that he needs to think about spitting out 50, 60 yards a game with his legs. And you don’t have to necessarily do it every time, but defenses need to know, ‘Oh, in a key moment, he just got the first down’ because it’s wide open. Go take it.
Patrick Mahomes does a great job. Josh Allen, you see that all the time. Lamar Jackson, you see it. Look, Brock knows he’s not that guy, but he can be a threat, and I think that threat needs to come out more this year.”
Can Purdy Be That Guy?
Before we nitpick Purdy’s performance, let’s not forget that the 49ers made the NFC Conference Championship in 2021 and 2022, before losing in the Super Bowl in 2023. Their offense in those three seasons looked like this:
Total Yards
2021: 7th (6,387)
2022: 5th (6,216)
2023: 2nd (6,773)
Total Points
2021: 13th (427)
2022: 6th (450)
2023: 3rd (491)
Third Down Conversion %
2021: 40.2%
2022: 45.0%
2023: 47.5%
The adjustment from Jimmy Garoppolo in 2021 and the majority of 2022 to Purdy in the late stages of 2022 to 2023 has been flawless. The team has improved on offense in more meaningful metrics, moving the ball well and extending drives when they’ve needed to.
Young readily admitted that we’re not going to confuse Purdy’s rushing ability with Mahomes, Allen or Jackson, but that he needs to be willing to take off more to make the defense have to account for the possibility of him running.
In 2023, Purdy ran 39 times for 144 yards (and 108 of those before contact), resulting in 15 first downs. Although the sample size is small, that’s what you’re hoping to see. He’s not likely to bash his way through defenders like Allen and he probably won’t bust off a 40 or 50-yard TD run like Jackson, but he’s been nearly as effective. It’s a noisy stat, but Purdy’s 53.8% rushing success rate barely trails Jackson’s 54.1% (Allen 65.8%, Mahomes 50.7%).
As with any smaller sample size, it’s no guarantee that an increase in attempts will result in Purdy keeping those solid averages, but it’s worth a try.
Why Mess With a Good Thing?
It’s a legitimate question, to be sure. The 49ers made it to the cusp of a Super Bowl Championship last season, and have shown marked improvement on offense in each of the last three seasons, so why add new wrinkles if you don’t need to?
Let’s take a look at how the 49ers’ season ended. In the 4th quarter of Super Bowl 58, the 49ers had two different 3-point leads that they couldn’t hold onto (the less we talk about extra points, the better). Most notably, the 49ers had a 1st and 10 at the Kansas City Chiefs‘ 40-yard-line with 3:27 to go. Here’s what happened:
1st and 10 – Christian McCaffery run for 5 yards
2nd and 5 – Completed pass for 0 yards
3rd and 5 – Incomplete pass
4th and 5 – 53-yard FG
The 49ers needed a first down, badly, to use more clock and give themselves a chance to win. If there was ever a time they needed a more mobile QB to spread things out and use his legs, it was then. They couldn’t get a single yard after first down and ended up watching Mahomes work his magic down the field. And yeah, he scrambled for positive yardage twice on the drive.
The final offensive drive of the season saw almost exactly the same result. A 6-yard McCaffery run on first, followed by no gain, and incomplete pass and having to settle for a FG. The Chiefs would march down the field, highlighted by an 8-yard scamper by Mahomes on 4th and 1, and another 19-yard run on 3rd and 1, before the game-winning touchdown.
The 49ers don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but that little bit of a threat from Purdy could have made all the difference when it mattered most.
