Brock Purdy torches Bucs with perfect game, and the 49ers look dominant again

Brock Purdy is back. And so, apparently, are the San Francisco 49ers.

After a three-game losing streak featured his first five interceptions of the season, Purdy sizzled for a second straight week on Sunday in a 27-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

While last week's 34-3 shellacking of the Jacksonville Jaguars was a showcase of all things 49ers, the spotlight belonged to Purdy on Sunday as he tallied 333 yards and three touchdowns while completing 21 of 25 passes. None were prettier than a 74-yard dime to Brandon Aiyuk that the 49ers receiver converted into a third-quarter touchdown to extend San Francisco's lead to 20-7.

Aiyuk ran a go route from the slot down the left sideline while facing man coverage from cornerback Jamel Dean. Purdy identified the single coverage then lofted a deep pass down the sideline that hit Aiyuk in stride over his right shoulder. Dean fell hopelessly back to the turf with no chance of halting the play as Aiyuk sprinted to the end zone.

Purdy joins Montana, Young in perfection

The touchdown pass was one of three to three different players as Purdy connected with All-Pros Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle for the others. He averaged a whopping 13.3 yards per attempt while completing 84% of his passes.

It added up to a perfect 158.3 passer rating on the day, a week after he averaged 11.4 yards per attempt and posted a 148.9 rating against the Jaguars. The perfect rating in a full game is the first for a 49ers quarterback since Joe Montana and Steve Young each achieved the feat in 1989.

He excelled via the advanced metrics as well. His total expected points added (EPA) for the game added up to 18.8 while his EPA per play was 0.59 — compared to -5.3 and -0.1 for Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Purdy's first touchdown featured McCaffrey breaking free from man coverage on a misdirection play in the red zone.

His third to Kittle saw Purdy find his tight end in the back of the end zone to extend San Francisco's lead to 27-7.

While Deebo Samuel didn't find the end zone, he made his impact with a 40-yard catch on a second-and-14 conversion after Purdy broke free from pressure. That play helped set up Kittle's touchdown.

For the day, the 49ers outgained the Bucs 420 yards to 287 and secured a 2-0 edge in turnover margin. It adds up to an emphatic bounce-back after Purdy's struggles in San Francisco's losing streak cast doubt around the unexpected hot start to his career after he took over as the 49ers' starter as a rookie last season.

It's arrived at an opportunistic time as the 49ers face a critical three-game stretch with two games against the fellow NFC West hopeful Seattle Seahawks and another against the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.

The news wasn't all good for the 49ers, who lost All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga to a knee injury that head coach Kyle Shanahan believes is an ACL tear. But they're back on track after a three-game slide raised questions about their championship viability.

San Francisco improved to 7-3 with the win to maintain first place in the division. The loss dropped the Bucs to 4-6, delivering a blow to their hopes of challenging for the NFC South crown.