Brock Purdy Praised by 49ers HC in Return from Injury; QB Says 'I Feel Really Good'

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan praised Brock Purdy in the quarterback's return Saturday night in a 21-20 victory over the Denver Broncos.

"I thought he did really good," Shanahan told reporters. "I mean, all the plays that he had, he made, and I don't think he had a bad one."

Purdy went 4-of-5 for 65 yards in his first action since suffering an elbow injury in last year's NFC title game.

The Niners got a 1st-and-goal at the 3-yard line during his lone drive, but a sack on second down proved costly. San Francisco settled for a 20-yard field goal by Jake Moody. Even though the offense left some points on the board, Purdy was happy to have gotten back into the groove of things.

"Honestly, yeah, it was good to be able to drive and then be able to take some hits and get right up and run a play again right after that," he said. "It's part of the game and honestly it helps me sort of settle into the game. I thought it was pretty good to be able to go through that."

Well before Saturday's game, Shanahan made it clear the starting quarterback job was Purdy's to lose. He told The MMQB's Albert Breer the second-year player "would have to melt in practice" to get demoted.

Purdy's performance against the Broncos reinforced who will be lining up under center for the Niners in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.