Purdy goes 20 of 22 as San Francisco beats Miami, 35–13
By Jordan Vance
Miami released Tua Tagovailoa this offseason, handed the job to Malik Willis on a three-year, $67.5 million deal, and fell to 0-2 with a 35–13 loss in San Francisco.
Brock Purdy barely missed. He completed 20 of 22 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns, ran one in from the 2, and finished with 28.5 fantasy points. He completed 18 in a row at one point, and San Francisco scored a touchdown on each of its first five drives. Christian McCaffrey scored on a pair of 1-yard runs and caught 4 passes for 43 yards, on 10 carries for 23. George Kittle, two games back from an Achilles injury, caught all 4 of his targets for 80 yards and a 12-yard touchdown. The other score was a 6-yarder to Kyle Juszczyk. Seven players caught a pass.
Willis got Miami's only points through the air. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown, threw no interceptions, and was sacked four times. The score was a 77-yard pass to Ryan Miller with 2:30 left, Miller's only catch, and 77 of those 197 yards. Miami's other points were field goals of 28 and 24. De'Von Achane carried 20 times for 74 yards and caught 3 of 6 targets for 19, without a touchdown. Willis was sacked five times in the opener at Las Vegas, too.
Through two starts the results have been uneven. He has shown he can move and he can throw, and the line has not kept him clean in either game.
Fantasy winners: Purdy is playing as well as any quarterback in football on this kind of day — 20 of 22, two touchdowns, and a rushing score. McCaffrey's two touchdowns keep him in the RB1 conversation even on 23 rushing yards. Kittle's 4 catches, 4 targets, and a score, in his second game back, make him a weekly starter.
Fantasy questions: Achane's workload stayed heavy, 20 carries and 6 targets, so the role is intact and the results around him are the problem. Willis stays hard to trust weekly until the protection gives him a cleaner pocket. One catch was 77 of his 197 yards.