San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) says goodbye to Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) after their NFL game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 38-17. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) says goodbye to Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) after their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 38-17. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
SANTA CLARA – The quarterback Kyle Shanahan once wanted for the 49ers was upstaged Sunday by the one he has now.
Brock Purdy is Kirk Cousins with legs.
Purdy’s ability to escape and create gives him a dimension the stationary Cousins doesn’t have, and it was in evidence throughout a 38-17 win by the 49ers over the Las Vegas Raiders at Levi’s Stadium.
Purdy finished 17 of 25 for 232 yards with two touchdowns, but he’s had better passing games. It was his skill at turning a bad play into a good one on scrambles that put the Raiders on their heels defensively as the 49ers built a 21-10 halftime lead.
It was on the 49ers’ second drive — a 13-play, 89-yard march — when defensive end Nick Bosa knew the Raiders were in trouble.
It was third-and-15 at the Raiders’ 36-yard line. Purdy couldn’t find anyone open on his initial reads when the middle suddenly opened up. So he ran 18 yards to the Las Vegas 8-yard line.
“I actually thought when I saw that it was just a backbreaker,” Bosa said. “You do everything right and he makes a play like that to keep the drive going. Those are the things that swing games.”
Purdy did the honors, scoring the touchdown to end that drive on a 1-yard run around right end, another play where there were no receivers open and he set sail for the pylon to put the 49ers up 14-0. He also converted a third-and-2 on the drive with a 2-yard run.
They were the type of plays Cousins could only dream of making. The veteran’s ability to quickly process information and execute an offense drew Shanahan to Cousins when both were in Washington.
And if the 49ers hadn’t swung a trade for Jimmy Garoppolo on Oct. 30 of Shanahan’s first season in 2017, Cousins would have been a target in free agency to take over the 49ers and maybe change the course of franchise history.
San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy (13) scrambles against the Las Vegas Raiders in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy (13) scrambles against the Las Vegas Raiders in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Cousins’ lack of mobility was plenty evident Sunday. He completed 22 of 32 passes for 216 yards but had three interceptions and found himself harassed and harried by an upgraded defensive line that included trade acquisition DeForest Buckner and a healthy Bosa.
Purdy reached a milestone with his 100th touchdown pass. A 37-yard strike on a post to Jordan Watkins was a thing of beauty. He also had a 12-yard scoring pass to Christian McCaffrey.
But there were also some misfires, including two on the opening drive on passes to McCaffrey and George Kittle. There was a third-quarter interception to Treydan Stukes.
While Cousins is cerebral and mechanical, Purdy has been fitted with the same Shanahan microprocessor and has blended his ability to run with the pass.
Through eight games, Purdy has rushed for 201 yards on 39 carries with two touchdowns. That puts him on pace for 426 yards over the course of the season, more than 100 yards better than his previous best of 323 in 2024.
And except for the occasional quarterback sneak, none are planned runs.
“I’m going through my progressions to execute the play, and if the defense does a good job matching our guys and I see a gap, I’ll go make something happen,” Purdy said. “The one on (third-and-15), we were in field goal range, so let’s not take a sack. I found an alley and I took it. It just kept opening up. It’s not something where I ever think, ‘I’m going to scramble here.’”
Shanahan trusts Purdy to run at the right time and not to expose himself to undue punishment.
“Sometimes that middle opens and you just take it and it’s a setup because the d-ends are coming back underneath and it quickly closes, so you do that too much and you’ve just got to have a feel for it,” Shanahan said. “That’s what’s cool about Brock because he is so good in the pass game. It’s hard to do both. When you sit there and look down the field all the time, you don’t know when to run. Usually when he chooses to, it usually works out well.”
Purdy’s play was reminiscent of former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon, whose uncanny ability to properly measure off first downs with scrambles helped him become a two-time All-Pro as well as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2002.
An award, by the way, that linebacker Fred Warner could be headed Purdy’s way in 2026.
“Brock Purdy’s the best quarterback in the league,” Warner said. “That’s what he does. He’s the reason we have a chance to go get a trophy.”
San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates his touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates his touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)