49ers  

49ers QB Brock Purdy returned from his turf toe injury to record 200 passing yards and three touchdowns in their 41-22 win over the Cardinals in Week 11. Purdy felt like he was able to get into a rhythm, which was his goal going into the game. 

“Six weeks off in-season for me, mentally, it was, I want to jump back in and get to where I was,” Purdy said, via Albert Breer of SI. “It’s part of the game where, as a quarterback, you want to get into a rhythm. So to have a couple plays before that, get some good completions, and some chunks of yards throwing the ball down the field, it felt good. And then to have Kittle to cap off the drive on an explosive down the field, that felt pretty good. I guess, mentally, it was, We’re back, I’m into a rhythm, and it’s gonna be good moving forward.”

Purdy spent time studying his film over the past few years to determine what he was doing well. The quarterback noticed that “off-schedule” plays were a significant part of his game, and he wanted to ensure he was healthy enough to utilise his mobility.  

“I saw decisive quarterback play, and good football, playing on rhythm, playing on time, and also being able to make plays off-schedule; that’s part of my game,” Purdy said. “I think just rehabbing the toe, I was like, I’m not going to go out there and play, and not be able to do what I can do. That’s what the whole decision with this toe thing was; I need to be able to play the way I play, moving around, off-schedule, that kind of thing. Just watching those games gave me confidence, that I was pretty close to feeling and looking like that.”

Purdy added that he didn’t feel 100% healthy going into Week 12, but he was good enough to play. 

“I felt great going into the game in terms of my toe, my health and everything,” Purdy said. “Percentage-wise, I don’t really know. I wouldn’t say I’m 100%—but pretty close. And I think just, overall, when I got out on the field, I didn’t think about my toe. I was just going through my reads, dropping back, playing quarterback. Scrambling and rolling out and everything, it felt fine. I didn’t think about it once. That was positive.”

Cardinals

• The jersey worn by Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett is now in Canton, Ohio, on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as Brissett completed an NFL record of 47 passes on Sunday. (Cardinals)

Rams

• Rams HC Sean McVay expects WR Tutu Atwell (hamstring) to return next week, and they are “getting close” to opening CB Ahkello Witherspoon‘s practice window, via Sarah Barshop. 

Seahawks

Seahawks QB Sam Darnold threw four interceptions in a loss to the Rams, but LB  Ernest Jones was quick to jump to Darnold’s defense. 

“He’s been balling all season. One bad game doesn’t define him. We’ve got his back, and if you’ve got anything to say, quite frankly, f—k you.” Jones said.

Darnold was thankful that his teammate came to his defense, noting that not every NFL locker room would do the same.

“All those guys in the locker room, we’ve all put a lot of work in, and when things don’t necessarily go the way that I want them to, especially on game day, the reason that it sucks for me is because I feel like I’m letting those guys down and I feel like a lot of the guys in the locker room feel the same way,” Darnold said, via the team’s website. “So that energy and the things that he said meant a lot to me for a guy to have my back like that. But again, I know that the guys are going to go fight no matter what, no matter what the case is, and so I’m going to do everything that I can to put my best foot forward and go execute at a high level.”

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