On Monday night, late in the third quarter, with his team leading by 20 points and another 300-yard performance seemingly assured, Brock Purdy looked, well, relaxed.
With his defense on the field, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback sat alone at the end of a bench, glancing occasionally at the Jumbotron, without a Microsoft tablet in his hands and with his quarterbacks coach, Mick Lombardi, standing about 10 feet away. At one point, Purdy crossed his legs. Later, he dangled his feet in the air and moved them from side to side, keeping them loose.
About an hour later, outside the 49ers' locker room, Purdy was asked about the solitary moment when he wasn't studying the opponent's defense or conferring with his position coach. Was that unusual for him during a game? Purdy only had a vague memory.
"With the tablet, there's only so much you can look at," Purdy said. "It was a long drive. I was probably just getting off my feet and taking a breath."
The moment was symbolic. Purdy and his teammates went from chilling - seemingly cruising to a blowout win over an overmatched opponent - to stressing during a 23-17 win over the Commanders that was almost an upset loss because the NFL's third-ranked scoring offense went from unstoppable to catatonic.
Leading 23-3 with 16 minutes left, the 49ers (6-0) needed their defense to save them because Purdy and crew finished with three consecutive three-and-out drives against Washington (1-4-1) and its 32nd-ranked scoring defense.
That brings us to another symbolic moment as the game began slipping away: With 7:46 left and Purdy back on the sideline after a second straight three-play possession included a sack and a punt, he was no longer alone. He was joined on the bench by Lombardi and backup quarterbacks Mac Jones and Kurtis Rourke. All four of them were staring at their own Microsoft tablets, apparently trying to ascertain: What was going on?
They never did find the answer. It was enough to make Purdy visibly annoyed as he addressed the media after the 49ers remained one of the NFL's three unbeaten teams with the fifth 6-0 start in franchise history.
"Yeah, I'm honestly a little upset with how I finished the game," Purdy said. "… It's on me for us to execute better and be more efficient in the second half. There were plays to be made."
Purdy completed 19 of 25 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown on the 49ers' first six drives, a stretch that ended with Eddy Piñeiro's 33-yard field goal that provided a 23-3 cushion with 5:56 left in the third quarter. On Purdy's final three drives: 2-for-4 for 11 yards, with two sacks.
The 49ers' first-half totals: 20 points, 17 first downs, 303 yards. The second half: three points, three first downs, 72 yards.
"I think for some reason, either schematically or just execution, we just weren't hitting in the second half," center Jake Brendel said.
Here's a possible reason: Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans played the first 29 minutes before he exited just before halftime with Achilles tendinitis, an issue that prevented him from practicing during the week.
Eight days after a dominant second-half performance in a 32-29 upset win at Seattle, Evans had three catches for 94 yards before he limped to the locker room. On the 49ers' first drive, which ended with a touchdown, Evans had a 24-yard grab on 3rd-and-4. On the 49ers' second drive, which ended with a touchdown, Evans had a 54-yard catch-and-run.
"Mike Evans is an amazing football player, and he showed all that in the first half," tight end George Kittle said. "He ran all the routes, caught everything thrown at him, really opened up the field for us. Just such a threat. I don't think we went three-and-out three straight times because Mike was not there. Obviously, he would have helped. But we just got to execute."
The obvious question: With Evans unlikely to play, how well can the 49ers execute when they visit the Falcons on Sunday?
The offense's late-game wheezing could have reflected that they've finally suffered one injury too many to their wide receiver corps. After Evans exited, the 49ers' top four wideouts were unavailable: Deebo Samuel (hamstring) won't play until November and Demarcus Robinson (ankle) and De'Zhaun Stribling (ankle) are on injured reserve.
"I think we're on, what, our fifth wide receiver?" Kittle said. "Our fifth or sixth wide receiver? I don't use that as an excuse. I think our wide receivers are more than capable of running the plays coach Shanahan calls for us."
Are they? The 49ers finished Monday with four wideouts: Past-his-prime Brandin Cooks, 33, Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins and Malik Turner, who was elevated from the practice squad Monday. Cooks was unemployed before the 49ers signed him on Sept. 22. Cowing, Watkins and Turner have combined for 37 career catches.
On Monday, the foursome had two catches for 35 yards. Kittle noted the final three possessions included some "mess ups."
"It's kind of what we went through last season, as well," Brendel said. "A lot of unfortunate injuries at the wideout position."
Indeed, despite throwing to a rag-tag receiver group headlined by Jauan Jennings, who wasn't re-signed in the offseason, Purdy returned from turf toe last year and went on a late-season tear. It's part of Purdy's history, an overall body of work that suggests Monday's flameout isn't necessarily foreshadowing a clunker to come against the Falcons.
Consider: On Monday, after his fifth pass attempt on the 49ers' opening drive, Purdy, with 1,500 career attempts, became the NFL's all-time passer rating leader. That is, the former No. 262 pick in the 2022 draft has spent his first five seasons overcoming obstacles.
If Purdy has to play without Evans and the next three guys in line in Atlanta before the 49ers have their bye? It might mean Purdy won't have many dangling-his-feet sideline moments Sunday, but he expressed confidence he'll find the answers after finishing Monday looking lost.
"Obviously, it sucks to have (Evans) go down," Purdy said. "But I still believe in the guys that we have to step up and make plays for us. We'll be good."
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There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at 49ers' offense goes cold after Mike Evans exits. What does that mean going forward?.