Brock Purdy and 49ers offense among the best in team history

What position does the San Francisco 49ers offense from 2023 hold among the best in the franchise? After scoring a touchdown on six straight possessions in Philadelphia last Sunday,

they ought to be regarded as some of the best in team history. According to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, the 49ers’ performance on Sunday marked the team’s first six-possession scoring streak in a game since 1992. Furthermore, in the last ten years, this is only the second time it has been done.

The 49ers will play three games in 2023 with a combined score of just 17 points. The 49ers offense used to be carried by their defense, and they would win some games with a mere 17 points scored. However, the 49ers offense’s output in those three games is its lowest of the season. Out of their 12 games, they have scored 30 or more in eight of them, and more than 40 in two of them. Additionally, they have scored more than 40 points in two games against two of the NFC’s top teams.

It’s difficult to compare the 2023 49ers with those teams because the 49ers had nearly 20 years of offensive excellence and five Super Bowl victories to show for it. The 49ers of today will never be regarded as being on the same level as the teams coached by Joe Montana and Steve Young until they win a Super Bowl. However, it’s still evident that the offense of the 2023 49ers is performing in ways that San Francisco hasn’t seen in a while. And they’re demonstrating why they rank among the team’s greatest offensive units ever.

Bill Walsh led the 49ers to a 45-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in 1981, marking the beginning of their reputation as an inventive offensive unit. The 49ers proved to the rest of the league that they were a serious team with this performance. The defense had scored a touchdown that day on a Ronnie Lott interception that was returned for a score, but the offense was beginning to establish itself.

The 49ers offense was starting to become unstoppable by 1984. It was touted as Montana vs. Dan Marino in the Super Bowl XIX versus Miami. Although Walsh’s “West Coast Offense” was regarded as the best in the league, Montana was named MVP of the Super Bowl despite the 49ers defense’s exceptional play. The upcoming years will see an increase in

San Francisco was well-known for its impressive offensive during the dynasty era. The 49ers had top-ranked offenses every year from 1981 to 1998, capped by five championships and back-to-back Hall of Fame quarterbacks. In the ’80s and ’90s, the 49ers were known for their offense, even though in recent years they have become more of a defensive team.

Four times in 1983, including 48 and 42-point weeks back-to-back, the 49ers scored more than 40 points. In 1983, there were four games with 40 or more points that featured a defensive touchdown. That appears to be the standard procedure. It’s common for a team to score that many points to include a defensive touchdown. That isn’t always the case, and last week’s 49ers victory in Philadelphia proved that.

Here are some of the team’s top-scoring and yardage teams:

• 1984: 475 points scored, 6,366 yards (Playcaller: Walsh, QB: Montana)
• 1993: 473 points scored, 6,435 yards (Playcaller: Mike Shanahan, QB: Young)
• 1994: 505 points scored, 6,060 yards (Playcaller: Shanahan, QB: Young)
• 1998: 479 points scored, 6,800 yards (Playcaller: Steve Mariucci, QB: Jeff Garcia)
• 2019: 479 points scored, 6,097 yards (Playcaller: Kyle Shanahan, QB: Jimmy Garoppolo)
• The 1994 Super Bowl team scored over 500 points. And Mariucci’s 1998 team tallied an impressive 6,800 yards. Over 2,500 of that was on the ground. Those were two of the more impressive offensive seasons.

  In the 1992 game that Wagoner referenced, when the 49ers scored a touchdown on six straight drives, Young led the 49ers to a 56-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. They scored eight offensive touchdowns in that game.

  Of course, there have been numerous games in which the 49ers scored a lot of points. They scored 55 on Detroit in 1993, 52 on the Bears in 1991, and 51 on the Panthers in 2019, just to name a few. Some of those games included the defense doing some of the scoring.

  And who could forget the 55 points (eight offensive touchdowns) they scored in Super Bowl XXIV? Or the 49 points (and seven offensive touchdowns) the 49ers scored in Super Bowl XXIX? Those were elite offenses.

• So what is it that makes these offenses so great? Well, for starters, the scheme is fantastic. When you have play-callers and play-designers, like Walsh, Mariucci, and the Shanahan father-son duo, you should have some well-coached and well-schemed offenses. And when you have offenses that several other teams in the league start to run, as was the case with Walsh’s offense, and now is the case with Shanahan’s offense, it just shows you how effective that scheme is.

  But the coaching and scheme is only part of it. You also need the players to make it click. Walsh had Montana, Roger Craig, Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Dwight Clark, and Brent Jones. George Seifert had Young, Rice, Taylor, Jones, and Ricky Watters.

  Shanahan currently has Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk. Each of those offensive players is at or near the top of the most productive players at his position. Having player-makers like that is critical, and when you combine the coaching/scheme and the right players for the scheme, you end up with a dynamic offense that is being compared to some of the best in franchise history.

• McCaffrey is doing things that we rarely see running backs do. He’s a mismatch, and Shanahan is using him like Walsh used Craig, and how his father used Watters. He’s a threat as a running back and as a receiver.

  According to Matt Maiocco, of NBC Sports Bay Area, “George Kittle has 445 catches for 5,989 yards since entering the NFL in 2017. He can become the fourth tight end in NFL history with at least 450 receptions and 6,000 receiving yards in his first seven career seasons, joining Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham and Travis Kelce.” That’s an impressive stat. Not to mention the fact that Kittle either owns, or will soon own, every receiving record for a 49ers tight end.

  Aiyuk is having, by far, his best season. In some games, he seems unguardable. And Samuel continues to be a threat to take over any game, much like he did in Philadelphia.

• And with the latest surge in love that Purdy is receiving, we’re even seeing comparisons to Montana. Rex Ryan said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Monday that when he sees Purdy play, he feels like he’s watching Montana. Even the national media, which has a very slow learning curve, is starting to warm up to Purdy.

  There have been some former 49ers who have jumped on the Purdy-Montana train. Two-time Super Bowl Champion, Darryl Pollard, was on the “Steiny and Guru” show on 95.7 The Game, a couple of months back. When the conversation turned to Purdy, Pollard said, “I’m in a group text with all the old DB’s who watched the development of Joe (Montana) and this is exactly how Joe became who he became. Montana and Purdy are guys with a lot of skill, intelligence. Brock’s a sponge, but he’s not a know-it-all. Shanahan was forcing both Jimmy and Lance to play ahead of their game. Instead of mixing oil and vinegar, Kyle’s now mixing sugar and water. The sweetness is what we’re seeing with Brock Purdy.”

  Now, there are some massive differences between the days in which Montana played and now. When Montana played, you could massacre quarterbacks. Today, you can barely breathe on them. Not only that but how you’re allowed to play receivers is different. In Montana’s day, a corner could maul a receiver even if he didn’t have the ball yet. Today, it’s simply not like that. So receivers in 2023 have an easier time getting open.

  But still, you can’t ignore what Purdy is doing. And you can’t overlook how the 2023 49ers offense is producing. This is an elite offense, being run by an elite play-caller who has elite players at his disposal.

  Maiocco also reports, “Brock Purdy can become the fourth quarterback in NFL history to have a completion percentage of 70% or higher in seven consecutive games within a season in NFL history. He can join Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana (eight consecutive games in 1989), Drew Brees (seven in 2016) and Sam Bradford (seven in 2016).” I’m not sure how Bradford got on this list, but other than him, Montana and Brees are great QBs to be listed alongside.

• Here are some interesting numbers comparing what Montana did in his first full season as a starter, and what Purdy is doing in his first full season as the 49ers starting QB:
  

  Joe Montana, 1981, 3rd season in the NFL

  • Started one game as a rookie (1979). It didn’t go well, as Montana finished 5-12 for 36 yards. Started seven games in his second season (1980). He completed 64.5% of his passes and threw for 1,795 yards and 15 touchdowns. Montana also threw nine interceptions. His passer rating was 87.8.
  • In his breakthrough season of 1981, Montana led the 49ers to a 13-3 record, won the Super Bowl, was named Super Bowl MVP, runner-up for league MVP, third-place in Offensive Player of the Year, was second-team All-Pro, and made his first Pro Bowl.
  • In that championship season, which was Montana’s first as the full-time starting QB, he passed for 3,565 yards, 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and completed 63.7% of his passes. His passer rating was 88.4.
  • Even in that magical season, Montana had five games in which his completion percentage was under 60% and three games in which his QB rating was 61% or less. In one of those games, a loss to the Cleveland Browns, his passer rating was 51.0. Montana also had three games with two interceptions. Again, he played in a different era than Purdy does.
    

    Brock Purdy, 2023, 2nd season in the NFL

    • If you count the Miami game, in which Purdy replaced Jimmy Garoppolo, the rookie QB finished the season 6-0.
    • As a rookie, Purdy completed 67% of his regular season passes and threw for 1,374 yards and 13 touchdowns. He had only four interceptions. His rookie passer rating was an outstanding 107.3. Montana didn’t have a QB rating higher than Purdy’s rookie rating until his 112.4 rating, in his 11th season, when he was NFL MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, First-team All-Pro, and Super Bowl MVP.
    • Montana entered his 1981 Super Bowl season with eight career starts. Purdy entered 2023 with five starts, plus the Miami game, and three postseason starts.
    • Through 12 games this season, Purdy has completed 70.2% of his passes, and thrown for 3,185 yards and 23 touchdowns, to go along with six interceptions. His current passer rating for the season is 116.1.Yes, it’s hard to compare players, or even teams, from different eras. And I’ll stand by my assertion that Montana and Young played in a much more difficult time for quarterbacks. But they also played with Hall of Famers like Rice, Terrell Owens, and someday soon Craig. Though in 1981, Montana didn’t have the kind of weapons he would have just a few years later.

      You can’t dismiss the fact that the 2023 49ers are one of the greatest 49ers offenses in history. And you can’t ignore that the quarterback is playing at a level much like his Hall of Fame predecessors did in San Francisco. Now Purdy and his teammates just need to bring home a trophy of their own.