Long passes have made 49ers offense difficult to defend

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- As the San Francisco 49ers prepared for the Seattle Seahawks last week, there was at least one play that receiver Deebo Samuel didn't expect the ball to come his way.

Which is why, with 8:18 left in the second quarter and Niners quarterback Brock Purdy dropping back to pass, Samuel wasn't running full speed on the deep over route that was his responsibility.

"As we worked that play in practice, that was the last option to be thrown," Samuel said. "As you can see, I really wasn't running a hundred miles an hour, but once I looked back and seen Brock getting ready to throw it, I had to speed up."

As Samuel kicked into gear, Purdy let it fly, dropping a perfect throw to Samuel for a 54-yard touchdown that would give San Francisco a 14-10 lead it would not relinquish.

The toss to Samuel offered the latest reminder of this new, important reality for the Niners offense with Purdy behind center: The deep ball is always an option.

"Brock just being the quarterback he is and just whenever he sees something, he's going to let it go," Samuel said. "I think it makes us way more dangerous because I feel like you can't just cover the inbreaking routes like they normally do anymore. You've got to cover the whole field."

Of the multiple ways Purdy has elevated an already talented supporting cast and dynamic offensive scheme, it's the addition of a successful deep passing game that has raised the Niners offense to its current historic trajectories.

Through 13 games, the Niners rank second in the NFL in offensive points per game (29.2), first in offensive efficiency (77.58) and offensive expected points added (119.4), third in passing yards per game (262.7) and rushing yards per game (139.6) and second in total yards per game (402.3). They are also posting the seventh-best defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA) (35.2%) of any offense ever tracked through a team's first 13 games.

For a group that has had plenty of success since coach Kyle Shanahan arrived in 2017, the Niners have gone to another level now that opposing defenses have to defend every blade of grass.

"I think our offense has always done a good job within the short, quick game, the intermediate game," Purdy said. "But to be able to hit some deep balls, I think it definitely does put in the back of the minds of DBs like, 'Man, they can go deep and we've got to respect it.' ... I think it's real."

That the 49ers' deep passing game has taken off in 2023 is no coincidence. Purdy and Samuel say the Niners emphasized working the deep ball into the mix more during the offseason. That was evident on the practice field during training camp, when Purdy and wideout Brandon Aiyuk seemed to come up with at least one big completion per practice.

After a few misses on the deep ball in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams, it has become increasingly clear that Purdy has found a rhythm with all of his primary pass catchers. Purdy has three touchdown throws traveling 30-plus air yards in the past five games, with one each going to Aiyuk, Samuel and tight end George Kittle.

For the season, Purdy is 7-of-13 for 351 yards with three touchdown passes and no interceptions on passes traveling at least 30 yards in the air. And while those 13 attempts are only tied for 20th in the NFL, his seven completions are tied for the sixth-most because his 53.8% completion rate on such throws leads the league.

Despite an outside narrative that Purdy takes dump-offs and checkdowns for most of his passing yards, the numbers don't support that notion. Only 20.4% of Purdy's pass attempts have been at or behind the line of scrimmage, the second-lowest mark in the league.

In those numbers is the revelation that Shanahan has inherent trust in Purdy to cut it loose more than any quarterback hes had since arriving in 2017. Before this season, the Niners' most 30-plus yard attempts in a season was 2022, when Jimmy Garoppolo tried 12 such deep shots. Garoppolo went 1-of-12.

What's more, from 2017 through 2022, Garoppolo was 6-of-40 with two touchdowns and six interceptions on throws traveling 30-plus air yards. Purdy already has more completions and touchdowns in just 13 games this season.

"If you've watched the Niners for the last seven years, we don't throw go routes and we've hit multiple go routes this year," fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. "If you really watch us, we throw the ball down the field all the time. We hit seam routes all the time. That's become a strength of our offense, and I think we do it. Maybe the attempts aren't as high or something, but we're so efficient in it. I feel like when we do throw it, we complete them."

Indeed, for the Niners the deep ball isn't so much about quantity as it is quality. Purdy is in the middle of the pack in terms of pass attempts at the 20- and 30-plus air yard marks but still ranks near the top of the league in completions because of his accuracy.

For the season, Purdy is fourth in completions on throws traveling 10-plus air yards (79) and 15-plus air yards (51) and fifth in completions on throws traveling 20-plus air yards (24). That's a product of Purdy ranking second in completion percentage on throws of 10-plus air yards and first in completion rate on 15- and 20-plus yard throws. He is seventh in the NFL in air yards per attempt (7.9) while comfortably ranking first in yards per attempt (9.9), yards per completion (14.1) and yards per drop back (8.8).

"When the looks are there, he takes them," Shanahan said. "When they have been there, he really doesn't miss."

Perhaps lost in the constant discourse about how Purdy's outstanding supporting cast and scheme make his life easier is that he is posting these numbers little more than nine months removed from surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and that he's only entering only his second NFL season.

It wasn't that long ago that there was uncertainty about whether Purdy would be able to open the season as San Francisco's starter. Purdy said he didn't start throwing it at full strength until about two weeks before camp started in July but wasn't capable of doing it consistently until midway through camp.

Now, Purdy feels like his arm is stronger than it was before the injury because of the routine and rehab he went through following surgery. His teammates have noticed, too, and it's showing up on the field.

"It looks like my man has been lifting a little weights," Samuel said, a smile creeping across his face. "You get a little stronger and it looks pretty good coming off his arm."