There has been a lot of chatter this season about how San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is not all that much better than his backup Mac Jones.
Purdy proved that is not the case in his return to action.
The Niners looked dominant on offense on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. They put up 41 points and looked to be a well-oiled machine with Purdy back out there.
In particular, Purdy made two key plays that showcased why he can run San Francisco's offense better than Jones.
The first play was on his impressive touchdown pass to tight end George Kittle in the first quarter. While it was an impressive throw from Purdy that did not look like a guy who hadn't played in a game since Week 4, that play was made before the ball ever left his fingers because he called an audible at the line of scrimmage.
Purdy recognized the Cardinals were in man coverage on defense, changed the play, and then delivered that seed to Kittle for a touchdown.
Jones can make the throw that Purdy did, but it is questionable whether he would have had the confidence to audible into that play call. The fact Purdy has been in head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense since 2022 means he is basically fully ingrained in the system and has a full understanding of its intricacies, especially compared to Jones, who is in his first season with the system.
Then there was another play later in the game in which Purdy also altered the play at the line of scrimmage, and whatever play he dialed up led to running back Christian McCaffrey being wide open for an easy touchdown pass.
As McCaffrey ran back to Purdy to celebrate, he put his finger against his head as if to signal that it was a smart move whatever Purdy did at the line based on what he saw from the defense.
Sometimes we focus so much on physical traits that we forget what Purdy brings to the table with his brain. He did prove he can run Shanahan's offense better than any other quarterback the Niners have had since 2017 with his arm strength or his speed. He proved it with his ability to process and read defenses.
The fact Purdy did not miss a beat on this front in his first game back proved he is definitely superior to Jones, which is no knock on the latter because Jones did great when he was the starter.
But Purdy is the right guy going forward for the Niners.