Purdy, 49ers’ offense continue to counter defensive adjustments

SANTA CLARA - The pass protection was good, but 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy often held the ball and eventually had to escape the pocket. Why? Oftentimes, Purdy had nowhere to throw it because the New England Patriots were well-prepared and took away some of the 49ers' usually-simple pitch and catches. "I felt early on New England did a good job just with scheming us up with our plays and stuff," Purdy said following San Francisco's 30-13 victory Sunday afternoon at Levi's Stadium. Purdy said the Patriots' safeties correctly anticipated the 49ers' routes and had the receivers and tight ends covered. Therefore, Purdy had to scramble more than usual. Later, the 49ers made adjustments and aired it out down the field, as the Patriots' defensive backfield took away a lot of the short and intermediate routes. "I feel like in the past couple seasons that's been something that we're sort of known for, but people scheme us up and they do a good job with just leverage and taking away certain routes," Purdy said. "For us, that's a good opportunity for us to be able to adapt and work on different things as well." Clearly, teams on the San Francisco's schedule spent considerable time in the...