{"id":254762,"date":"2025-11-15T21:22:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T02:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=254762"},"modified":"2025-11-15T21:22:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T02:22:04","slug":"brock-purdys-comeback-comes-at-perfect-time-for-san-francisco-49ers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/15\/brock-purdys-comeback-comes-at-perfect-time-for-san-francisco-49ers\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock Purdy\u2019s Comeback Comes at Perfect Time for San Francisco 49ers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brock Purdy will make his long-awaited comeback for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. He missed six weeks after injuring his toe in the season opener and aggravating it in Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a>. The team has now cleared him to play<\/a><\/p>\n

Brock Purdy\u2019s Comeback Comes at Perfect Time for San Francisco 49ers<\/h2>\n

49ers\u2019 Schedule and Purdy\u2019s Comeback Mesh Perfectly<\/h3>\n

With Week 11 of 18 here, every game matters as the playoff push begins to take shape. Purdy\u2019s comeback comes at the perfect time as the 49ers try to stay within striking distance of their division rivals. Not only is the roster beginning to get healthy, but the schedule is softening<\/a>. San Francisco will face multiple last-place opponents in the coming weeks, starting with Sunday\u2019s matchup against the Arizona Cardinals<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Purdy\u2019s Rise<\/h3>\n

The 49ers received plenty of criticism for letting an injured Purdy start and struggle against the Jaguars. Now, after a six-week absence, the onus is on the team\u2019s $265 million quarterback to return to the elite form he showed in 2023 and 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

Purdy\u2019s ascent from the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to San Francisco\u2019s franchise quarterback has been remarkable. His 2023 campaign \u2014 4,280 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and a Super Bowl appearance \u2014 cemented him among the league\u2019s top quarterbacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

This toe injury is the most significant physical setback of his NFL career. The 49ers hope he rebounds quickly and leads them on a strong late-season push. The rebuilding Cardinals provide a favorable matchup, with a defense that has struggled for much of the season. If San Francisco\u2019s offense settles in early, Purdy should have a manageable path back into rhythm.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"49ers
Sep 29, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass against the New England Patriots during the third quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brock Purdy\u2019s Comeback: Its Impact on Mac Jones<\/h3>\n

Backup quarterback Mac Jones made the most of his extended opportunity, starting eight games in Purdy\u2019s absence. He threw for 2,151 yards (11th in the NFL), 13 touchdowns and only six interceptions \u2014 strong production for a player many viewed as a stopgap.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jones benefited from playing with All-Pro Christian McCaffrey, but he also navigated a stretch without George Kittle and other banged-up receivers. He delivered steady, mistake-free football and kept the 49ers competitive nearly every week. However, the 49ers hope Purdy’s comeback will take the offense to a higher level.<\/span><\/p>\n

With Purdy fully healthy, the 49ers will likely move Jones back to the bench. Still, his production stacks up favorably \u2014 he has more passing yards this season than reigning MVP Josh Allen, Super Bowl champion Jalen Hurts and fellow young quarterbacks Bo Nix and Trevor Lawrence. While Jones may deserve to keep the starting role, the 49ers acquired him to be Purdy\u2019s backup. Given that Purdy played almost all of the games the past two seasons, the team did not expect their starter to miss extended time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless of what happens next, this will go down as Jones\u2019 best season since his rookie year with the New England Patriots<\/a>. It remains to be seen whether he can turn this season into a starting job elsewhere, like Sam Darnold, or if he will settle into a high-end backup role.<\/span><\/p>\n

For now, Purdy and Jones will need to support each other as the 49ers chase wins and stay close to the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> and\u00a0Los Angeles Rams<\/a> in the NFC West.<\/span><\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brock Purdy comeback: The 49ers quarterback returns after six weeks out, giving San Francisco a boost as they push for the playoffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5641,"featured_media":249075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31,36],"tags":[9212,922,1960,7325],"class_list":["post-254762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-49ers","category-nfl-news","tag-brock-purdy","tag-christian-mccaffrey","tag-george-kittle","tag-san-francisco-49ers-news"],"modified_by":"Mike Kashuba","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5641"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254762"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254916,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254762\/revisions\/254916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}