The San Francisco 49ers were heavily favored to beat the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Levi's Stadium. They took care of business to the tune of a 35-13 victory.
It didn't look to be on track for a blowout through the first two quarters. San Francisco struggled to find stops against Miami's offense and let the Dolphins hang around with a 14-6 score going into halftime. The 49ers pulled away with a big second half and turned the game into the rout many expected it to be.
Here are our takeaways from the 49ers' victory:
Brock Purdy's (nearly) perfect day
Purdy completed 20-of-22 throws for 287 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 30 yards and a touchdown. At one point the 49ers QB completed 18 consecutive throws, and he was a perfect 10-for-10 on throws 10+ yards down the field.
The 49ers QB has been stellar through the first two games this season, going 45-of-56 (80.4 percent) for 492 yards (8.79 yards per attempt) with five touchdowns and one interception. He also has 59 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries (7.4 yards per carry).
49ers secret offensive weapon
Speaking of Purdy, his scrambling is becoming a real weapon for the 49ers' offense. He used his legs effectively in Week 1, and then ran thrice on one drive for 30 yards Sunday. He capped that drive with a rushing touchdown. The 49ers offense is hard enough to guard with head coach Kyle Shanahan calling plays for all of his weapons. With the added, unplanned element of Purdy scrambling there are certain things a defense just can't account for and Purdy is smart about when to take advantage.
Upton Stout's Year 2 leap
Stout was excellent against Miami. He had five tackles, one tackle for loss, 0.5 sacks and a pass breakup. There weren't many times a play ended and No. 20 in red wasn't near the football. Stout did get beat for a 77-yard touchdown late in the game, but that didn't undo the slew of excellent plays from the 49ers' second-year nickel CB. Having a good run defender in the slot who is also improving in coverage will be a significant lift for the 49ers' secondary.
49ers rookies on D-line step up
Gracen Halton and Romello Height both flashed a handful of times throughout Sunday's game. Halton especially was a nuisance for the Dolphins offensive line. He finished with five tackles and a tackle for loss with a handful of quarterback pressures. The 49ers will need Halton to step up with so many injuries on the interior of the defensive line and he did it Sunday. Height also notched his first career sack when he chased QB Malik Willis out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage. He also helped apply pressure with Halton on the Dolphins' first snap of the game.
Demarcus Robinson injury hurts
The 49ers could ill-afford another injury in their receiving corps. Robinson looked to be en route to a big game when he caught his third ball to get to 34 yards. On that reception in the second quarter he went down with what head coach Kyle Shanahan said is likely a high ankle sprain. Robinson was expected to be the 49ers' No. 4 WR this season. Now San Francisco is without three of its top four preseason WRs with Robinson, Ricky Pearsall and De'Zhaun Stribling all nursing injuries that will cost them significant portions, or all, of the 2026 season.
Third quarter eruption
The 49ers gained 199 yards and scored 21 points in the third quarter despite running only 16 plays. That's good for an absurd 12.4 yards per play. For reference, the Dolphins had 187 yards on 47 plays combined through three quarters. San Francisco turned a sneaky close 14-6 game into a 35-6 laugher in those 15 minutes, then they coasted to the finish line.
Run defense is still an issue
Buried in the 49ers' thumping of the Dolphins are more problems stopping the run. Miami in the first half held the ball for 35 plays on three possessions and had a 19:17 - 10:43 time of possession advantage. A large part of that was because San Francisco allowed them to rush for 84 yards on 20 carries. They finished with 102 yards on 29 attempts thanks to the 49ers making them one-dimensional with the lopsided score.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 7 takeaways from another blowout win for 49ers in Week 2
