news-engine

Los Angeles Chargers punter JK Scott booted a 51-yard punt, pinning the San Francisco 49ers offense and quarterback Brock Purdy inside their own 10-yard line. This would be the lone series for Purdy in a 41-17 preseason win on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium. A number of other starters played, notable exceptions being running back Christian McCaffrey (unspecified tightness), wide receiver Mike Evans (quad tightness) and left tackle Trent Williams (rest). Multiple rookies stood out in their place. The Chronicle analyzed all 12 Purdy snaps. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Play 1 (1st-and-10 at own 6): Purdy audibled a pre-snap “can” call to the second play after wide receiver Demarcus Robinson motioned from right to left across the formation. A left toss to rookie running back Kaelon Black resulted in a 5-yard gain. Black found a gap and did not hesitate to go vertical, falling forward for a solid gain on first down. The 49ers were in 12-personnel (one running back and two tight ends). Play 2 (2nd-and-5 at own 11): Tight end Luke Farrell motioned from left to right across the formation. Purdy received the snap and almost immediately angled his dropback to the left away from blitzing linebacker Daiyan Henley (6-foot and 225 pounds), whose rush was promptly picked up by Black (5-10, 208 pounds), who stayed in as an extra pass blocker. Purdy threw to wide receiver Deebo Samuel for a 4-yard gain that set up a 3rd-and-short. The 49ers were in 11-personnel (one running back, one tight end). Play 3 (3rd-and-1 at own 15): Black took an inside handoff for 2 yards and an easy first down. He ran right off of the backside of Connor Colby, who started at right guard in lieu of Dominick Puni (concussion protocol). Colby sealed off veteran defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson to create just enough room for Black to move the sticks. The 49ers were in 13-personnel (one running back, three tight ends). Advertisement Article continues below this ad Play 4 (1st-and-10 at own 17): A false start penalty was called on Farrell. The 49ers were in 12-personnel. Play 4 (1st-and-15 at own 12): Robinson motioned from right to left across the formation, and Purdy from under center timed the snap to forecast a jet sweep, subsequently faked a handoff to Black and targeted Samuel. Purdy’s pass was well behind Samuel, who could barely get a hand on it. The ball luckily did not hang in the air long enough to be intercepted. It looked like Purdy was trying to squeeze the ball in between a dropping linebacker and the two Chargers safeties. The 49ers were in 12-personnel. Play 5 (2nd-and-15 at own 12): Purdy from a clean pocket found De’Zhaun Stribling on a curl route for an 11-yard completion, critical to prompting a more manageable third down. Stribling tracked back to the ball nicely and stretched to snag it right in front of the chest of Chargers cornerback Cam Hart. The 49ers were in 11-personnel. Play 6 (3rd-and-4 at own 23): Samuel motioned from left to right across the formation. After the ball was snapped, Black easily identified and handled blitzing cornerback Nikko Reed, but left tackle Austen Pleasants appeared confused between whether he should block Reed or stand-up edge Bud Dupree. The result: Dupree skated past Pleasants to pressure Purdy, who quickly set his feet from the opposite hash to connect with Stribling on an out route for 7 yards and the first down. The 49ers were in 11-personnel. Play 7 (1st-and-10 at own 30): An inside toss to Black was stopped after 1 yard. Colby got side-stepped by defensive tackle Justin Eboigbe, who penetrated and made first contact. Black broke that tackle attempt and fought for minimal positive yardage. The 49ers were in 12-personnel. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Play 8 (2nd-and-9 at own 31): A handoff to the left saw Black ping-pong off of a couple of his own blockers, including center Jake Brendel and Robinson, on his way to a 4-yard gain. Rookie Carver Willis, who made the start at left guard, initially helped Brendel with his assignment and then climbed nicely to occupy Henley in the second level. The 49ers were in 11-personnel. Play 9 (3rd-and-5 at own 35): Stribling created separation with a stutter-step into a short in route. Purdy darted a pass to him slightly past the sticks, as Stribling secured the catch and fell forward for another comfortable third-down conversion. The pocket was clean. Running back Sincere McCormick, who impressively finished the game with six carries for 53 yards and a touchdown, picked up blitzing linebacker Denzel Perryman. The 49ers were in 11-personnel. Play 10 (1st-and-10 at own 42): Farrell motioned from left to right across the formation for a crack-back block assignment, but the handoff to McCormick went for no gain. Willis was a pulling guard on the play and looked slow to get to Perryman, who easily eluded Willis en route to McCormick for the tackle. Willis barely got a hand on Perryman. The 49ers were in 12-personnel. Play 11 (2nd-and-10 at own 42): Advertisement Article continues below this ad Play 12 (3rd-and-7 at own 45): Head coach Kyle Shanahan: “Moved the ball decent. We would’ve liked to go down and score. I don’t think we actually crossed the 50 on it. We ended up having 12 plays and converted three third downs, which was big. But then, I thought (Purdy would) get two drives, but I think it was 12 plays so we took him out after that.”