Brock Purdy’s TD vs. Bears felt like the final word in 49ers' QB conversation

With all due respect to Mac Jones, Brock Purdy just put an exclamation point on why he's the San Francisco 49ers' No. 1 quarterback.

On a night when neither the Niners nor Chicago Bears defenses could come up with consistent stops, it fell on Purdy's shoulders to outduel Bears quarterback Caleb Williams under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football in a primetime showdown that'd heavily influence both teams' prospects for the No. 1 seed in the NFC's playoff picture.

The 42-38 San Francisco victory edges Purdy and Co. one step closer to the top seed, but the final box score doesn't wholly paint the full picture.

However, if one wanted to sum up just how critical Purdy was to the 49ers win, a single play late in the third quarter of the back-and-forth showdown fully revealed why he's getting paid the big bucks:

Granted, it wasn't the game-winning touchdown throw late in the fourth quarter. But Purdy's ability to scramble, evade Chicago defenders and deliver a touchdown pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk just before crossing the line of scrimmage are all telltale signs of an elite playmaker.

Again, no disrespect to Jones. But he doesn't make that play.

"I mean, it was obviously a bootleg and just one of those things where the defense sort of did a good job covering it and just try to make a play and keep the play alive," Purdy said of the play postgame. "And then obviously when I cut back in, defenses tend to go in to end cuts on scrambles, so just trying to keep the play alive and saw Juice in the corner. So, it was cool that he had his antenna up too right there in that moment."

Granted, the Niners wouldn't be at this point if Jones hadn't admirably filled in for Purdy over eight starts, helping San Francisco go 5-3 during that span. And the former's efforts certainly helped resurrect what's otherwise been a frustrating career.

Yet the subsequent debate whether or not Jones could do the same thing as Purdy, particularly at a significantly less cost, remained.

Until now, that is.

"He's a dangerous player, particularly when he can see down the field and have that much time," Bears head coach Ben Johnson told reporters after the game. "I agree with you. He extended some of those plays with his legs, too. He did a really nice job, and we certainly didn't affect him enough."

With 10 total touchdowns over the last two weeks, including two of the rushing variety, Purdy is playing at a red-hot level at precisely the right moment with one regular-season bout left in the books.

And the 49ers may need that kind of delivery to continue their improbable run into the postseason.