Brock Purdy leads 49ers to blowout of Cardinals in return from toe injury as Jacoby Brissett sets NFL completions record
Brock Purdy's return went perfectly on Sunday afternoon.
The San Francisco 49ers quarterback made the start this weekend after missing six straight games due to a toe injury, and he had no issue leading the 49ers to a commanding 41-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Purdy went 19 of 26 for 200 yards with three touchdowns.
The 49ers now sit at 7-4 on the season, and have won three of their last five games.
San Francisco wasted no time taking the lead on Sunday, though Purdy had nothing to do with it. Running back Christian McCaffrey punched in a 1-yard score on their first play from scrimmage after Skyy Moore ran back the opening kick 98 yards.
Purdy took over on the next drive to increase their lead after the 49ers forced a quick punt. He found both Jauan Jennings and Demarcus Robinson for deep passes to get into Arizona territory, and then he found an open George Kittle up the right side for a 30-yard touchdown. While the extra point attempt was blocked, Purdy put them up by two scores just six offensive plays into the game.
Purdy hit McCaffrey for a 9-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter, too. Though that was their last touchdown of the half, the 49ers added a pair of field goals to take a 25-10 lead at the break.
Purdy found Kittle a second time late in the third quarter on a short out route to the corner of the end zone, marking the 50th touchdown of Kittle's career.
The People's Tight End gets TWO today
- San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 16, 2025
: FOX
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLhpic.twitter.com/kzFl83mfXD
Though San Francisco gave up a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the game was already well out of reach. McCaffrey found the end zone for a third time, too, after breaking open a 20-yard run to set up an easy touchdown. From there, the 49ers cruised to the blowout win.
Jacoby Brissett went 47 of 57 for 452 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss for Arizona. His 47 completions actually set an NFL record, too. Bam Knight led them on the ground with 24 yards and a score on five carries. Michael Wilson had 185 yards on 15 catches, and Trey McBride had 115 yards and a score on 10 catches. The Cardinals now sit at just 3-7 on the year.
McCaffrey had 81 yards on 13 carries for the 49ers, and he had another 40 yards on five catches. Kittle finished with 67 yards on six catches.
Purdy has been dealing with his toe injury all season. He first injured it during their season-opening win over the Seattle Seahawks, and he's missed eight games because of it. He hasn't played since he aggravated it again during a Week 4 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he's been ramping up to his return this past week. While backup Mack Jones has largely held things down in Purdy's absence, head coach Kyle Shanahan said before the game that it was not a hard decision" to get Purdy back into the starting role now that he's healthy.
Clearly, that was the right call. The 49ers have several winnable games ahead of them, too, with the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns on the schedule before a bye week and then the Tennessee Titans. If Purdy can keep this up, the 49ers should be in a great position to close out the regular season despite being in a very tough NFC West race.