Brock Purdy’s biggest play against the Arizona Cardinals never officially counted, but it still set the tone for a wild finish at Levi’s Stadium.
Late in San Francisco’s 36-30 win, Purdy broke left, found daylight and sprinted 45 yards into the end zone. The crowd erupted.
The flag erased it. Officials called George Kittle for holding near the goal line, wiping out what looked like the game’s signature moment.
Two plays later, Purdy went right on play-action and found Kittle alone for a 20-yard touchdown that pushed the 49ers ahead 36-27 with 1:31 left. Arizona added a late field goal, Deebo Samuel recovered the onside kick, and San Francisco moved to 3-0.
Purdy had plenty to say about the sequence afterward.
“100 percent, we were just joking, saying he was really selfish to get the flag and then score a touchdown after,” Purdy said. “But it was fun.
I’m glad we were able to finish and capitalize there. Just typical George fashion.”
Brock Purdy, postgame, Sept. 27, 2026
Kittle had his own explanation for why the touchdown was there in the first place.
“I was so excited when they called that play because the way they’ve been running downhill this whole drive … I’m going to be uncovered here. And I was uncovered.”
George Kittle
He also took issue with the penalty, then turned the joke back on himself.
“It’s frustrating, but hey, refs are entitled to make their own calls,” he said in the same session. Then he added that he probably should have stepped out of bounds so the 49ers could kneel. “No one told me to, so that’s their fault, not mine.”
The NFL play-by-play shows the call-back coming after Purdy’s scramble started from the Arizona 45. The run was marked a touchdown, then the hold was enforced at the Arizona 10, backing San Francisco up 10 yards. Christian McCaffrey got nothing on the next snap, and then Purdy used play-action to roll right and hit Kittle in the space Arizona had left behind.
That space existed because the Cardinals were selling out against the run. McCaffrey had just powered 12 yards up the middle to the Arizona 42, and Kittle knew the defense was keyed on stopping San Francisco’s downhill game.
The game had already delivered another oddity before that finish. On third-and-12 from the San Francisco 18, Kyle Shanahan dialed up a hook-and-ladder.
Purdy hit Mike Evans for a short gain, Evans lateraled to Samuel, and Samuel raced 80 yards for the touchdown. ESPN’s recap listed the full play as 82 yards.
Samuel finished with 80 receiving yards and a touchdown, but no receptions.
Purdy’s final numbers were strong across the board. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 297 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, good for a 133.8 passer rating in the FOX Sports box.
He also ran for 34 yards on two official carries, though the wiped-out 45-yard touchdown does not count in the stat sheet. His longest recorded run was 35 yards.
Kittle’s afternoon was just as productive, and on his bobblehead day - with 80,000 of them in the stands, according to the team’s site - he finished with six catches for 82 yards and both of San Francisco’s late scores.
San Francisco needed the whole package because Arizona kept pushing. Jacoby Brissett went 38 of 52 for 280 yards, and the Cardinals held the ball for 38:44.
Still, they walked away with the loss. Evans left with a rib injury, and left tackle Trent Williams exited with a stinger, the only injury details teams and pool reports confirmed.
Purdy now has 10 total touchdowns through three games, a total ESPN’s game story noted is tied for the most in franchise history at this point in a season. He also has not been sacked in 2026.
The 49ers are back home in Week 4, hosting the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS.
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