Judgements XIV

 By Clark Judge 

Brock Purdy

The last player chosen in each year’s NFL draft is called Mr. Irrelevant. Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy was the last player this year, chosen with the 262^nd pick by the San Francisco 49ers. But he’s hardly irrelevant.

In fact, he may be the most relevant reason to believe San Francisco could be a speed bump to Philadelphia in the NFC.

I know, at 10-3, the Vikings and Cowboys, have better records than San Francisco (9-4). But the 49ers have the league’s stingiest defense, playmakers galore and momentum. More than that, they have a reason to believe in Purdy.

He just became the first rookie … ever … to win his first career start vs. Tom Brady.

Until Sunday, Brady was 7-0. Now he’s 7-1 following a 35-7 beatdown where the 49ers overwhelmed Tampa Bay and Purdy outplayed TB12 … and, yeah, I’d say that’s pretty relevant. So do the 49ers.

“We got a quarterback,” a jubilant Nick Bosa said afterward.

A week ago, it was Purdy who rescued San Francisco after Jimmy Garoppolo exited with a broken ankle, ending his season. All he did was complete two-thirds of his passes, throw for two TDs and lead the 49ers to a 33-17 defeat of Miami. But it wasn’t his numbers that got your attention. It was his poise. He seemed absolutely unfazed.

“You would think he’s been in the league 15 years,” said tackle Trent Williams. “He ain’t no timid rookie feeling his way around. You would think he’s like Peyton Manning or something.”

Wait. What?

You heard him. Peyton. Manning.

That’s high praise for anyone. But Mr. Irrelevant? Purdy didn’t mind. So he went out Sunday and completed all but five of 21 passes vs. Brady and the Bucs, threw two more TD passes, ran for another and committed no mistakes.

More than that, he gave the NFC reason to wake up and pay attention.

Without Jimmy G, the 49ers were supposed to be handicapped trying to reach their second Super Bowl in four years. After all, under coach Kyle Shanahan, they were 9-29 without Jimmy G and 38-17 with him. But they just won their sixth straight, the first time that’s happened since …. well, since 2019 when they were in Super Bowl LIII vs. Kansas City.

Then, they featured a solid running game, a physical defense and a quarterback who knew how to win. Sound familiar?

SUNDAY SCHOOL: FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

1.       Philadelphia will have the first-round bye in the playoffs. It should. The Eagles aren’t just the best team in the NFC. They’re the best team in the NFL. At 12-1 they’re two games up on Minnesota and Dallas with four games to play. Now look who’s left: Only two of their opponents (Dallas and the Giants) have winning records, and they just hammered one of them (New York). Over its last three starts, the Eagles have, in order, 40 points, 500 yards (Green Bay), 35 points, 453 yards (Tennessee) and 48 points and 437 yards (Giants). The Eagles are the most complete team out there. They run. They pass. The play defense. And they win, win, win, with Jalen Hurts running his streak to 15-1 over his last 16 regular-season games.

2.       Detroit is more than a tough out, it’s a playoff threat. They’re 6-7, and in position to make a move. Remember: In each of the past four seasons, at least one 6-7 team reached the playoffs. The Lions could be that one this year. They won five of their last six, just buried Minnesota and have a schedule with three of their remaining four games vs. opponents with losing records. “Our guys know they belong,” said coach Dan Campbell. They should. They just put up 30 or more points for a team-record seventh time and could be … maybe should be … favored in their last four games.

3.       Tom Brady should’ve stayed retired. He came back for this? The team stinks. The coaching stinks. Too many losses. Not enough big plays. Not enough Tom Terrific. And now a 28-point blowout for Brady in his return home to the Bay Area. Brady was going to beat Father Time, right? He did … until now. He should’ve said goodbye when he was saying hello.

4.       The Ravens are resilient. No Lamar Jackson, no problem. No Tyler Huntley, no problem. Somehow, Baltimore wins with ….Anthony Brown? We don’t make ‘em up. The Ravens aren’t the best team in the AFC North. Cincinnati is. But Baltimore refuses to go away. Better yet, they rediscovered a legit rushing attack sans Lamar, with running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards combining for 186 yards on the ground. “The run game,” said coach John Harbaugh, “was what we needed.”

5.       The G-Men look like Dead Men. No, they’re not out of playoff contention. In fact, if the season were to end today, they’d make it. But they’re fading fast, going 0-3-1 over the past month. Moreover, they’re 2-5-1 vs. opponents with winning records. The Giants simply don’t have enough playmakers. And, as Sunday’s game demonstrated, they don’t have enough defense, either.

THIRD AND 20

1.       Jalen Hurts just moved to the front of the MVP field. He’s in the midst of an extraordinary season, yet each week he seems to get better. A month ago, the race was supposed to be between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Then it was Mahomes, with Hurts moving up on the outside. Now it’s Hurts in front, suddenly gaining separation from Mahomes, who ran his record vs. Denver to 10-0 Sunday but kept the Broncos in the game with three interceptions.

2.       So that’s why Jacksonville made Trevor Lawrence the first pick of the 2021 draft. Not sure if it could’ve happened without Doug Pederson but I am certain it couldn’t have with Urban Meyer.

3.       Another team that made a move forward Sunday was Washington. I know, the Commanders didn’t play. But with the Giants’ loss, they’re tied with Big Blue at 7-5-1 and back in the playoff picture. So who’s better? You tell me. The two tied last week, but the Commanders are 6-1-1 in their last eight starts. Washington and the Giants play each other next Sunday.

4.       That should end the debate about which quarterback you’d rather have – Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert? No contest. It’s Herbert in a runaway.

5.       One week ago, an upset Mike Vrabel said Tennessee was “at a crossroads as to how we want to continue down the season.” Well, apparently the Titans want to continue down … with the emphasis on down. They got torched again, only this time by Jacksonville. If and when the Titans win the AFC South, they’re one and done in the playoffs. Once upon a time, their defense was so secure that few scored more than 20 on them. Then, the Eagles did it last weekend (OK, it happens). But Jacksonville? In Nashville? That’s not supposed to happen. Neither is a chorus of boos at home. But it did, with Tennessee sinking to its third straight loss.

6.       The more you see Mitch Trubisky, the more you understand why Pittsburgh had to draft Kenny Pickett.

7.       If I have reservations about Minnesota in the playoffs, they involve Kirk Cousins. I just don’t trust him to win a meaningful game. But don’t blame Capt. Kirk for Sunday’s defeat. The defense that Vikings’ cornerback Patrick Peterson said served as the team’s closer didn’t. A surprise? Not really. The Vikings surrendered 400 or more yards to opponents the past five games, the longest such streak in franchise history. If defense wins championships, the Vikings in deep kimchi.

8.       Carolina was supposed to go into full Tank Mode after dealing Christian McCaffrey. But you know something? They’re 4-4 with interim coach Steve Wilks where they were 1-4 with Matt Rhule. Plus, they just ended a nine-game road losing streak by upsetting Seattle. Steve Wilks deserves a shot at the job in 2023.

9.       Pittsburgh won’t make the playoffs, but it will make history. One more loss, and Mike Tomlin suffers his first losing season … ever. You can look it up. In 15 years with Pittsburgh, he never finished below .500. But he will this season, maybe next week at Carolina. The Panthers just shredded Seattle for 223 rushing yards, while Pittsburgh hemorrhaged 338 yards rushing in the last six quarters.

10.   I thought Buffalo was supposed to miss Von Miller. The Bills just produced four sacks, two takeaways, eight quarterback hits and hammered the Jets’ Mike White so hard he was forced to exit(he later returned) and was taken to a hospital afterward before rejoining the team.

11.   Quick question: How come Denver’s Jerry Jeudy wasn’t flagged … no, tossed … after ripping off his helmet and bumping an official? Bet the Chiefs would like to know, too.

12.   Dak Prescott didn’t save the Cowboys from disaster. The Dallas defense did. Ahead by three late in the game, the Texans could’ve clinched the upset when, following a Dak interception, they were set up first-and-goal at the Dallas 4. But they didn’t get the touchdown. They didn’t try the field goal. They got zilcho, setting up Dallas for its game-winning drive.

13.   Bad and boring is a brutal combination. Meet the Tampa Bay Bucs.

14.   It’s games like that when you wonder: Has the Panthers’ Sam Darnold finally turned the corner? Not so fast. We’ve been here before.

15.   No more California Dreamin’ for the Miami Dolphins. One week in the Golden State produced two Dolphins’ losses, two Tua fizzles and separation between with Buffalo in the AFC East. Until last weekend, the Bills and Miami were tied at 8-3. Then Cali happened. Where the Dolphins hadn’t scored fewer than 30 in any of their previous games prior to last weekend (all victories), they scored no more than 17 each in losses to the 49ers and Chargers. Bad? It gets worse. They go to Buffalo next Saturday with an injured Tyreek Hill.

16.   Somewhere, former Titans’ GM Jon Robinson is feeling a lot better.

17.   Shortly after losing to Buffalo, Jets’ coach Robert Saleh told reporters that “we’ll see these guys again.” Maybe. But I wouldn’t bet on it. Granted, the Jets have a playoff-worthy defense. But they also have a schedule that includes the Lions next week, a game in Seattle and a finale vs. Miami.

18.   I love what’s going on with the 49ers’ defense, too, but did coordinator DeMeco Ryans really call defensive end Nck Bosa “hands down” the Defensive Player of the Year? A couple of immediate thoughts: 1) Ryans doesn’t have a vote, and 2) someone should introduce him to a guy named Micah Parsons.

19.   Quick question for Todd Bowles: Why keep a 45-year-old quarterback in for the duration of a 35-7 blowout? Who’s running this team?

20.   Best question of the day comes from ESPN business and legal analyst Andrew Brandt on Twitter: “I get the love for Brock Purdy and the idea that the 49ers don’t need a star QB in that offense. But this begs the question: Why did the 49ers trade 3 first-round draft picks for Trey Lance?” Someone? Anyone?

SUNDAY’S GOLD JACKET NUMBERS

n  Jacksonville held Derrick Henry to 2 yards rushing in the second half. Honest. He had 119 in the first half. Two in the second.

n  The 49ers dressed nine players Sunday who were 23 or younger. Tom Brady is in his 23^rd NFL season.

n  The Ravens have takeaways in 15 straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL.

n  Calais Campbell’s blocked field was the ninth of his career. Nobody has blocked more in the last 15 years.

n  Philadelphia’s Haasan Reddick has three consecutive 10-sack seasons with three different teams (Carolina, Houston and the Eagles).

n  Denver’s Josey Jewell is the fourth player with multiple interceptions of Patrick Mahomes and the first to do it in one game.

n  Tyler Lockett has a receiving TD in six straight games, the longest streak in Seattle history.

SUNDAY’S GOLD JACKET QUOTES

n  “Our guys know they belong. They know when you play football like we’ve been playing the last few weeks, we can play with anybody. And that’s the truth.” – Detroit coach Dan Campbell.

n  “He seems good to me. He’s reciting the months of the year backward. Can you do that right now?” – Baltimore coach John Harbaugh on quarterback Tyler Huntley’s condition.

n  “We got four weeks left to find out who we want to be.” – Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles.