SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Brock Purdy’s first career start had his dad shedding joyful tears in the Levi’s Stadium stands, and the 49ers’ Faithful shared that sentiment Sunday by chanting “Pur-dy! Pur-dy!” at times in Sunday’s 35-7 rout of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A 28-0 halftime lead made certain Purdy – and the 49ers’ top-ranked defense — would upstage Brady’s rare and perhaps final homecoming to his native Bay Area.
On the 49ers’ way to a sixth straight win, however, came trouble, in the form of Deebo Samuel getting carted off the field with an ankle injury five minutes before halftime. It’s the latest, scary injury to a franchise that deployed Purdy as its third starting quarterback this season, a week after losing Jimmy Garoppolo to a potentially season-ending foot fracture.
