Much has rightly been made of the speed with which Brock Purdy has adapted to life as a starting quarterback for the 49ers and, more recently, his success in overcoming adversity for the first time since ascending to that role in San Francisco’s 37-34 overtime win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17.
Purdy led the 49ers back from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and also led what would have been a game-winning drive at the end of regulation as he calmly — at least for the first three completions — connected with Brandon Aiyuk four times for 52 yards to set Robbie Gould up for a game-winning field goal that was pushed wide right. A Tashaun Gipson interception in overtime afforded Gould a chip shot, with which he redeemed himself.
Yet as Kyle Shanahan seemingly gains increasing support for the Coach of the Year award for the manner in which he has guided the Niners through a season in which they have lost two quarterbacks but won nine successive games to move to 12-4, it is worth highlighting some of the play calls from the San Francisco head coach that helped ease the pressure on Purdy in a game where the seventh-round rookie did have his fair share of ups and downs.
While the defense endured its worst game of the season, the offense largely continued to excel thanks naturally in large part to the play-calling acumen of Shanahan, and these three plays stand out among his best from the win in Vegas.
3rd Quarter, 6:15 remaining
The 49ers had gone three and out to start the third quarter and then seen the Raiders extend their advantage to 24-14 on a broken play that ended with QB Jarrett Stidham connecting with Davante Adams on a 60-yard catch and run.
Purdy had already got into something of a rhythm on the drive with completions of 15 and 18 yards to Christian McCaffrey and Jauan Jennings respectively, but it was this end around to Brandon Aiyuk that was the key play call and put the 49ers in prime position to trim the deficit to three points.
Kyle Juszczyk does a magnificent job on this play helping sell the run and then blocking downfield. Still a tremendously valuable player for the Niners. pic.twitter.com/6fyU2qYLum
— Nicholas McGee (@nicholasmcgee24) January 6, 2023
Having just gained five yards on a run to the left by Tyrion Davis-Price, the 49ers get the Raiders defense to bite on the threat of the same play, with Kyle Juszczyk’s apparent motion to that side of the field helping sell the hand-off to Davis-Price and get Las Vegas’ second-level defenders moving to their right.
However, at the shotgun snap, Juszczyk bends the direction of his motion back to towards his right, giving the Niners an extra blocker as Purdy fakes the hand-off to Davis-Price and instead hands it to Brandon Aiyuk coming around the formation.
Safety Roderick Teamer and Maxx Crosby are the only Raiders defenders in the box who appear to diagnose the play, with most slamming into the wall on the left side of the 49er offensive line.
Crosby is occupied by the block of George Kittle and Aiyuk evades Teamer, the 49ers’ success in getting three offensive linemen upfield initially giving them a six (including Aiyuk) on two.
That superb execution and the tremendous downfield blocking from Juszczyk springs Aiyuk for a 16-yard gain that put San Francisco in the red zone. McCaffrey scored on a 14-yard run on the next play.
4th Quarter, 9:52 remaining
Purdy had been visibly frustrated on the series prior to this call, failing to take full advantage of a Stidham interception on a drive where he threw incompletions on potential touchdowns to Jauan Jennings and Kittle.
Shanahan’s play call did a brilliant job of settling Purdy down and getting the 49ers in scoring position.
The slot screen from the 49ers' most obvious run look, at a time where Purdy was struggling, is one of my favourite Shanahan play calls of the year. Trent Williams in the open field blocking for a player with McCloud's speed. Love it. pic.twitter.com/IGtX9SnenF
— Nicholas McGee (@nicholasmcgee24) January 6, 2023
The call…. A slot screen to Ray-Ray McCloud, a play that would normally be reserved for Deebo Samuel but one that could work just as well with a receiver of McCloud’s speed, especially when the defense is duped by a look that consistently indicates the 49ers are running the ball.
McCloud is sent in pre-snap motion across the formation, drawing Raiders defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell out into coverage. The 49ers are lined up in 21 personnel and Juszczyk shifts laterally towards the strong side of the formation just before the snap, a move that has consistently preceded an outside zone run.
Purdy sells it as such, faking a hand-off to McCaffrey, and the Raiders bite en masse, with seven defenders initially flowing towards the run action and Ferrell abandoning his coverage on McCloud and, in turn, allowing Trent Williams to quickly move into the open field to block. Purdy swiftly turns and gets the ball out to McCloud before Jerry Tillery — the sole defensive lineman not fooled — can impact the play.
With help from Williams, a solid block from Aiyuk and an effort play from OL Daniel Brunskill, McCloud is soon surging 42 yards downfield, putting the Niners on the fringe of the red zone. They had to settle for a go-ahead field goal, but Purdy was once again in rhythm and would remain so for the rest of a tight contest.
4th Quarter, 1:11 remaining
If Purdy had any nerves about leading the 49ers down the field on a potential game-winning drive, they will likely have been calmed right off the bat, with Shanahan using the vast amount of talent at his disposal to manipulate the Raiders’ zone defense.
Shanahan sends Jennings in motion and then on a downfield route to stretch the defense horizontally and vertically, with Jennings becoming the responsibility of Nate Hobbs as the boundary corner drops to his deep quarter of the field.
Safety to the weak side of the formation put in conflict here by the motion and route up the sideline from Jennings and the threat of CMC underneath, creates big hole in the zone for Aiyuk. pic.twitter.com/JkY9VSdygx
— Nicholas McGee (@nicholasmcgee24) January 6, 2023
Teamer, reading the backfield the entire way as he drops into zone, is the nearest defender to Aiyuk running an eight-yard in-breaking route, but he hesitates to close the hole in zone because of the pass pattern of McCaffrey, whose status as the best pass-catching running back in the NFL has been firmly re-established since his trade to the 49ers.
Purdy never moves his eyes off Aiyuk but he does not need to. The influence of McCaffrey has held the defense enough for him to fit the throw into Aiyuk for an easy 12-yard gain.
It was a play in which the 49ers attacked one side of the field at all three levels, with the underneath route drawing the most respect and — as Shanahan so often does — putting a key second-level defender in conflict.
From there, the 49ers’ final drive in regulation never lost steam and should have been the one that sealed the game.
The Niners had to wait a little longer to do that but the offense eventually got the reward of a win for a gameplan in which Shanahan both empowered his quarterback and took the strain off him with well-designed and well-executed calls that got the ball in the hands of dynamic playmakers and allowed the attack to produce efficiently in key situations in a tight game.
Perhaps even more impressive was that Shanahan had success calling plays that have long since been the domain of Samuel for Aiyuk and McCloud, the fourth wide receiver on the depth chart.
With Samuel and Elijah Mitchell set to return from injury in time for the 49ers’ postseason campaign, Shanahan will have the full complement of weapons with which to attack much better defenses than that of the Raiders in the playoffs.
The game in Vegas should serve as as a reminder to playoff opponents that Shanahan’s menu of plays is an extensive one, and he can call them for almost any member of his skill-position group and succeed in taking the pressure off a quarterback the 49ers’ NFC rivals will be desperate to unsettle on the biggest stage of his career.
