East Bay Times

Purdy continues to steer clear of turnovers, but can that persist?

- By Cam Inman cinman@bayareanew­sgroup.com

Not even a 3-0 start for the 49ers can quell all concerns from their fan base, which relayed some via social media for this Week 4 mailbag:

Will Jake (Brendel) and Purdy fix those botched snaps? (@matty__maff)

Look, at least Purdy recovered those fumbles, on the first snap after halftime at the Rams and on the second snap after halftime against the Giants. The ball is definitely bouncing the 49ers' way, especially in the red zone:

— Week 1: Purdy traps the ball under his backside after a J.J. Watt sack at the Steelers' 13-yard line.

— Week 2: A red-zone snap deflects off motion-man George Kittle's thigh and redirects to Christian McCaffrey for a short run. Also, Deebo Samuel's fumble harmlessly goes out of bounds, and, later, Talanoa Hufanga intercepts a fourthquar­ter pass that ricochets high off Fred Warner's helmet.

— Week 3: The 49ers breach the red zone when Purdy's pass deflects off Samuel and into the hands of Ronnie Bell for a 15-yard gain at the Giants' 18, setting up a touchdown and a 17-3 lead.

What parts of Purdy's game do you expect to regress as the season wears on? (@FowleBall1­5)

He has not had a pass intercepte­d this season, part of a streak spanning 190 passes to the New Year's Day win at Las Vegas. He's also never had two passes intercepte­d in a game, and he's never lost a regular-season game. Mr. Irrelevant has become Mr. Invincible.

Are Brock's overthrows an adjustment to new mechanics (from his injury repair) or miscommuni­cation? (@edjr04)

It's a question he answered after his three overthrows Sept. 17 in Los Angeles: “No, I don't think so. We've hit those deep balls at practice. It comes down to that when the bullets are flying, make accurate throws, don't overthrow, don't underthrow, and be on point. That's what you have to do as a NFL quarterbac­k and I take that on myself.”

Is Aiyuk gonna be out or not? (@dian.vega7)

Indication­s are that Brandon Aiyuk will not miss more than last Thursday's game because of the shoulder injury he played through in Week 2 at Los Angeles. After he practiced Monday, he said he's feeling really good, and that may have also been the case a week ago but the plan was for him to rest him in the 30-12 home-opening win over the Giants.

Is Kyle Juszczyk being under-utilized? (@tysnaps)

It always seems that way, in terms of not getting the ball in the hands of such a versatile player. He has zero targets, after averaging two per game (and 1.6 receptions) since 2017, and he just got his first carry this season (averages 0.5 carries per game as a 49er). The perennial Pro Bowl fullback's main role is to block for the NFL's No. 3-ranked run game. He is still playing 52% of the offensive snaps, which is about his norm since 2017 (63% in 2017, then 49%, 43%, 56%, 50%).

Do you think Dallas got exposed against the Cards? (@jr__925)

I think on any given Sunday … What the Cowboys' first loss of the season showed was their defense missed cornerback Trevon Diggs (ACL tear in Thursday's practice). Dak Prescott's late intercepti­on, on third-and-goal from the 6, showed he still hasn't mastered late-game scenarios (see: January 2022 wild-card playoff finish to the 49ers). What the Cardinals showed was some moxie — especially on defense — for their first win under coach Jonathan Gannon and quarterbac­k Joshua Dobbs.

Why will people underestim­ate Arizona? Mobile quarterbac­k and they moved the ball real easily on Dallas' defense? (@ronshizzle)

Dobbs, a month after being traded from Cleveland, indeed played a big role in Sunday's upset over the Dallas Cowboys. It was his first win in seven NFL seasons, and the first for coach Jonathan Gannon, formerly the Philadelph­ia Eagles' defensive coordinato­r (see: January's NFC Championsh­ip Game.) Arizona's offense ranks 12th in scoring, 18th in total yards, but sixth in rushing with James Conner, who has a knack for scoring on the 49ers.

Assessment of the right side of the O-line? (@ bk49r)

It looks relieved when T.J. Watt is not on the other side of the ball. Right tackle Colton McKivitz and right guard Spencer Burford are entrenched as starters, so any growing pains should prove worthwhile. Count on Micah Parsons to weigh in on all that Oct. 8 when the Cowboys visit. By the way, when pressure does come from Purdy's right side, he'll roll left, where he seems unusually comfortabl­e for a right-handed thrower.

There is a ton of back and forth about Purdy and where he ranks among QBs. Doesn't it come down to what teams are willing to pay for him and how many teams would be in line to do so? (@neuwb)

He ranks No. 1 in Kyle Shanahan's mind right now, which is all that counts for years to come (see: Shanahan contract extension that was announced Friday). Contractua­lly, Purdy is not eligible for his own raise via an extension until after his third season. So he's roughly a $1 million bargain on the cap until 2025, which is $54 million under Joe Burrow's annual bill for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Who will be the most famous attendee at Sunday's game? (@skiswm)

Taylor Swift already came through Levi's Stadium two months ago. Among the 49ers Faithful's celebrity club: Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo (Christian McCaffrey's fiancé), actor Jeremy Renner, comedians Rob Schneider and Al Madrigal, 2001 Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick, and musical artists E-40, Saweetie, P-Lo and Taylor Eigsti, the latter of whom I met on a 49ers trip to Seattle about 20 years ago and he's since become a Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist.

Will our fans brawl again? (@dgnrg22)

Print it on a T-shirt: “Make touchdowns, not war.”

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