Quarterback Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers departed the game briefly due to a stinger in his left shoulder following a hard blow to his upper torso. With 4:05 remaining in the first half, Purdy was left on the ground after Cardinals LB Dennis Gardeck made high contact with him.
The 49ers supporters at State Farm Stadium yelled Purdy’s name while he was on the ground, despite their fierce rivalry. Much to the relief of the assembled spectators, Purdy got up to leave amid thunderous cheers and made his way directly to the blue medical tent.
Due to Gardeck’s hit, San Francisco was awarded an extra 15 yards and placed at the AZ 38 after being penalized for roughing the passer. After throwing six of eight passes to Deebo Samuel for 53 yards and a score on the first drive, Purdy gave Sam Darnold a temporary position before coming back onto the field.
Purdy has been leading San Francisco to a league-best 10-3 record as of Week 15, putting up a strong case for MVP of the league. Purdy topped the conference going into this week in a number of metrics, including 9.9 yards per attempt, completion percentage (70.2%), and passer rating (116.9 for starting quarterbacks).
The Cardinals had shown their admiration for Purdy before the game:
“A lot of the time, a lot of factors influence a player’s ability to play above or below their ceiling at any position when they are drafted. Numerous factors are involved in that. Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said, “The team, the system, the scheme, who’s their strength coach, who’s their position coach, what’s the coordinator like, who’s in front of them and who’s in the room with them.”
Numerous factors are involved. For this reason, many men hit and many men miss. Although I haven’t watched him all season, I believe they’ve done a great job, and he gets better every time I watch him. There’s no precise science to it. He’s a tremendously talented player, and you see him do certain things that he didn’t do the previous year.
