Brock Purdy passed his first NFL test with flying colors in the 49ers' 33-17 win over the Miami Dolphins, but there was one play that stood out above the rest to coach Kyle Shanahan.
On a crucial third-and-10 from the 49ers' 35-yard line late in the second quarter, Purdy threw a dart to tight end George Kittle across the middle of the field. Kittle caught it for a 16-yard gain. Purdy was flattened by Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips.
First down.
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SIGN UP HERE The 49ers went on to score their second touchdown of the day on that drive, a 3-yard pass from Purdy to Christian McCaffrey seven seconds before halftime.
In NFL insider Peter King's weekly "Football Morning in America" column for NBC Sports, he pegged that throw as Purdy's best play of the game. Shanahan agreed.
“I did, too," Shanahan told King after the game. "Especially with what they were doing to us. They were coming after Brock and doing a good job of taking our quick throws away. This was a huge job of Brock signaling something to change the route [for Kittle]."
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Purdy threw the pass in 1.72 seconds. Per NFL Next Gen stats, that was just the sixth completion all season of at least 10 yards that a quarterback completed in 1.72 seconds or less.
Purdy displayed a trait that many young quarterbacks struggle to find in the NFL -- decisiveness.
“What impressed me about Brock in [training camp] is he was always willing to let it rip," Shanahan told King. "He’s decisive. He started for years [at Iowa State] at a high level. You got to have some balls to play quarterback in this league, and he does. We think we’ll have a chance with him."
Purdy's 49ers teammates agree with Shanahan's sentiment. Purdy isn't lacking any, uh, boldness. Shanahan used the word "balls," and Kittle dropped "cajones" when describing Purdy's afternoon at Levi's Stadium.
RELATED: How PFF graded 49ers rookie Purdy in first test vs. Dolphins
“With not knowing that he’s ever coming in, when he got in, you could tell he was ready for the moment and very vocal," receiver Deebo Samuel said to reporters after the game. "There were times that he messed up, and it takes nuts to call the time out without Kyle calling it, you know what I'm saying?"
One throw doesn't tell the entire story of Purdy's first extended NFL test, but it's a perfect representation of the unexpected confidence and swagger in the quarterback selected with the final pick of the 2022 draft.