These 49ers are ‘Purdy good’ as they prepare for playoff run

The 49ers have found some rejuvenation because of Brock Purdy, but he’s only part of a team that’s been ‘Purdy good’ nearly all year long.

For the first time under the Kyle Shanahan regime, the San Francisco 49ers are making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Last year, San Francisco made it as a Wild Card team and made it to the NFC Championship game only to fall short against the Los Angeles Rams last February.

This year, the Niners have already clinched the NFC West, and in terms of playoff seeding within the conference, they will earn no lower than the No. 3 seed in the postseason.

How did the 49ers get to be ‘Purdy-Good?’

After their Week 16 dominance over the Washington Commanders, the 49ers now boast an 11-4 record and are on an eight-game win streak.

Many factors and moving parts have played a part in San Francisco’s success.

The Quarterback(s): Week 1 saw Trey Lance start under center in only his second year before being hurt in his fifth quarter of play. Jimmy Garoppolo took over early on in Week 2, and he had 16 strikes to the end zone against only four interceptions.

Garoppolo himself went down with a serious injury early on in Week 13, and that led to rookie Brock Purdy helping win that particular game for San Francisco, and he has now won his last three starts since.

In the last four games Purdy has played, he has thrown two scores in each of them for a total of eight on the season.  He has thrown for 846 yards and only two picks since Week 13.

The Offensive Backfield: Early on the season, Elijah Mitchell was hurt. Mid-season, the 49ers traded for Christian McCaffrey.

The next transaction saw Jeff Wilson, Jr. get traded to the Miami Dolphins for a future draft pick, and that translated into rookie Jordan Mason’s playing time seeing a significant boost.

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk has been a staple for San Francisco’s backfield over the years, while wide receivers like Deebo Samuel and Ray-Ray McCloud III have also been responsible for some huge rushing gains, too.

The Wideouts: Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk have been stellar for the 49ers’ passing game.  Combined, they have tallied almost 1,500 yards and nine touchdowns.

McCloud and Jauan Jennings have also been key in stretching the field as well, and they have added another combined 500-plus yards and a touchdown each.

The Tight End: George Kittle has been on fire as of late. After a relatively quiet start to his season (and missing the first few contests due to injury), Kittle has caught four touchdowns and 213 yards in his last two games.

The Defense:  The 49ers rank No. 1 in total yards allowed a game on defense. They are the only team on average keeping their opponents under 300 yards a game.

The Niners defense has only allowed 16 touchdowns so far this season, too, and this squad is also in the top seven (or better) in turnover margin (plus-8), forced fumbles (nine) and sacks (41).

Furthermore, the 49ers are sixth in total sacks (41) thanks to the efforts of defensive end Nick Bosa, who leads the league with 17.5 sacks as he makes a strong case to be named Defensive Player of the Year.

Special Teams: Veteran kicker Robbie Gould is 20-of-24 for field goals and 37-of-38 in extra-point attempts.

He has been perfect in field goals inside the 40-yard line this season and has made both attempts from beyond the 50-yard line.

49ers, the NFC West champions, look to return to the Super Bowl

With only two games remaining (at Las Vegas Raiders and versus Arizona Cardinals), the 49ers could close out the season with a 10-game win streak. That means San Francisco would finish the year at 13-4 after starting out the season at 3-4.

Apparently, it does not matter who the quarterback is or whose number is called to play on offense.

Overall, these 49ers are “Purdy” darn good!