SANTA CLARA — Brock Purdy got grass stains on the back of his red 49ers jersey and lived to tell the tale until the regular season.
Everything else pales into insignificance when it comes to the remainder of Sunday night’s preseason game against the New Orleans Saints.
Purdy survived his first-quarter appearance, but not before two hits from Saints defenders forced Purdy to land on his throwing shoulder after throwing incomplete passes.
Well-protected from their preseason-opening loss to Tennessee, Purdy got his first game reps since the 49ers’ overtime Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Few other regular starters were in action alongside him against the Saints.
That group of backups didn’t give Purdy much of a chance to shine or make any big plays. That allowed backup punter Pressley Harvin III to become the 49ers’ MVP early in the game, with each of his first three punts landing inside the 10-yard line.
Purdy completed 2 of 6 passes for 11 yards, and he repeatedly tried to make a play when there wasn’t one. So he attempted a few last-minute passes, two of which resulted in hits to Purdy’s left shoulder (by Nathan Shepherd and Carl Granderson of the Saints) and a landing on his right shoulder.
The first time Purdy tried that, tight end Eric Saubert helped prevent that cross-country pass from being intercepted. Later in that second series, Purdy rolled right on a third-and-8 and headed out of bounds for a 2-yard sack after tight end Brayden Willis failed to get open, and Purdy didn’t like his options with Chris Conley, Trent Taylor and Cody Schrader.
Purdy finished his third and final series by throwing an incomplete third-down pass deep to Taylor, though right tackle Colton McKivitz bought Purdy time in pass protection. Purdy was replaced in the second quarter by Josh Dobbs, who scored a rushing touchdown for the second straight game; Dobbs was the No. 2 quarterback behind Brandon Allen in last Saturday’s 17-13 loss at Tennessee.
It could be the last time the 49ers put Purdy in action before the regular-season opener on Sept. 9 against the New York Jets. The 49ers will conclude the preseason on Friday against the Raiders for a return game in Las Vegas, where last season ended in a sad Super Bowl loss.
Dobbs’ running ability came in handy on several occasions, including two runs for first downs and a one-yard, fourth-and-goal touchdown run with just one second left before halftime. He also completed a precise 38-yard pass to Jacob Cowing at the 4-yard line to set up that touchdown and the 13-7 halftime lead.
Dobbs’ first series Sunday featured a 47-yard field goal by Jake Moody that pulled the 49ers within 7-3. Then came the 49ers’ first defensive highlight, with Alex Barrett and TY McGill crushing Spencer Rattler for a sack that forced a fumble. Dobbs then put together another scoring drive that included a 24-yard field goal by Moody and a 13-yard run by Dobbs and an 11-yard pass to Jake Tonges.
The last time the 49ers played at home, they beat the Detroit Lions to win the NFC championship. That comeback was helped by Purdy’s third-quarter deep pass to Brandon Aiyuk, whose contract has kept him out of 17 training camp practices and now two preseason games.
Other offensive starters who were sidelined from Sunday night’s action, either as a precaution or because of health concerns, were: receiver Deebo Samuel; tight end George Kittle; fullback Kyle Juszczyk; running backs Christian McCaffrey (calf), Elijah Mitchell (hamstring), Isaac Guerendo (hamstring) and Patrick Taylor Jr. (foot); left guard Aaron Banks (pinky finger surgery); and right guards Jon Feliciano (knee) and Spencer Burford (hand).
Left tackle Trent Williams still hasn’t reported to training camp and is now facing a fine of more than $3 million, including $1.1 million per game, for missing every preseason game.
On defense, the only regular 49ers starter to play was safety Ji’Ayir Brown for the second straight preseason game. That meant a night off for defensive linemen Nick Bosa, Leonard Floyd, Maliek Collins, Javon Hargrave; linebackers Fred Warner and Dee Winters; and cornerbacks Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir and Isaac Yiadom (ankle).
Keeping players healthy remains the No. 1 goal of the preseason, but the 49ers aren’t quite getting it right. Defensive tackle Nick Williams, who signed last week, left the field in the first quarter with a left knee injury. Defensive tackle Kalia Davis (knee) and cornerback Ambry Thomas (forearm) are expected to miss at least the next two months because of surgeries last week on injuries from the preseason opener.
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