There is seemingly no stopping the San Francisco 49ers right now, no matter who is starting at quarterback for them.
They were winning with Jimmy Garoppolo under center, and ever since he injured his foot, they haven’t missed a beat with Brock Purdy, the last player taken in April’s NFL Draft, replacing him.
On Thursday Night Football, San Francisco got past the Seattle Seahawks with relative ease, 21-13, and even when Geno Smith and company threatened in the fourth quarter, there was a sense that the game was still out of reach.
Purdy headlines the list of players who shined brightly for the 49ers.
1. Purdy Was Pretty Good Once Again
There is always the chance that what Purdy has shown in his last three games is fool’s gold and that he will turn out to be little more than an average quarterback in the long run.
But in the hostile environment of Lumen Field in Seattle, he came through with a very solid performance, completing 17 of 26 passes, two of which resulted in touchdowns, with no interceptions.
Purdy looks very poised for a rookie, let alone one who was the 262nd pick in the 2022 draft, and head coach Kyle Shanahan has set him up to succeed since the day he was drafted.
Both of the rookie’s touchdown passes were caught by tight end George Kittle, who had himself a brilliant night.
2. Kittle Was Too Hot To Handle For Seattle
Kittle missed some time at the start of the season with a groin injury, and once he returned, it took him some time to get going.
On Thursday, he had arguably his best game of 2022 with 93 yards on four receptions and two scores.
Both of his scores were set up brilliantly by Purdy and resulted in Kittle being wide open.
Brock Purdy to George Kittle for a 28-yard Niners touchdown 💪
A beautiful play design by Kyle Shanahan.
🎥 @NFL | @49ers pic.twitter.com/GYh0oL4LIs
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) December 16, 2022
GEORGE. KITTLE. Second TD of the night!#SFvsSEA on Prime Video
Also available on NFL+ https://t.co/gyMqx7NKs2 pic.twitter.com/yD00n8dfSX— NFL (@NFL) December 16, 2022
Kittle is one of the most popular players on the team not just because of his consistent production, but also because of how hard he plays and his fun, warm personality off the field.
