Brock Purdy faced plenty of adversity during the San Francisco 49ers' three-game losing streak, but responding to his nightmarish four-interception performance on Christmas Day will arguably be the greatest challenge of his career to date.

Purdy saw his MVP case suffer damage from which it is unlikely to recover as the 49ers suffered a 33-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in a battle of the NFL's two one seeds.

After being picked off in the endzone on the 49ers' first offensive series by Kyle Hamilton, Purdy then fell victim to two disastrous deflections before a fourth interception came as his arm was hit as he released the ball.

Purdy eventually left with a stinger and did not return, Kyle Shanahan electing to keep him out of a game in which injuries to the offensive line left the 49ers ill-equipped to deal with the Baltimore pass rush. However, the head coach's belief in his quarterback is unshaken by his primetime letdown.

“Oh, Brock, he'll bounce back," said Shanahan. "He'll be in there tomorrow looking at the film. He'll come to Wednesday ready to go. 

"Hopefully his stinger clears up, which I expect it to. Our whole team will bounce back."

Purdy threw multiple interceptions in the losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals in Weeks 7 and 8, but this was the first game in his career that seemed to spiral out of control. Shanahan and Purdy's teammates were both keen to note that important context as they reiterated their confidence in the quarterback.

“I just think the fact he's played this long and never had a game like this is pretty unusual," said Shanahan. "I think that's the reality of the NFL. I'm not saying it's bound to happen, but I wish he didn't have as many picks today. But like I said, I think one of them was one he'd really liked to have back. The other three I think were unfortunate."

Added wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk: "I think he’ll be good. This is his first time really getting the other side of it. So, I’m excited to see how he’ll bounce back. I think we’ll be good.”

Edge rusher Nick Bosa also echoed his head coach's sentiments, saying of Purdy's career to this point: "I think it’s unbelievable how he’s played for the past two years. Just being a young rookie last year, it seems like he’s immortal out there. But no one is immortal. He’s responded from not his best performance before and I think he will do that again."

Purdy's last riposte to adversity saw him return from the bye and reel off six successive performances that solidified him as the MVP frontrunner. That individual accolade may have gone after the worst game of his career came on the national stage and this time Purdy does not have the luxury of a bye week to shake off the stink of that display.

Instead, the 49ers are on a short week, knowing they cannot afford to lose against the Washington Commanders as they look to win their final two games to clinch the one seed in the NFC.

San Francisco is heavily favored to beat Washington on the road, but turnovers and wasted possessions can be an equalizing force in any game. As such, it is imperative Purdy justifies the faith of his head coach and his teammates and produces another compelling reply to a performance that will stick in the minds of his doubters for a long time.

Brock Purdy’s latest achievement is one he won’t want to celebrate

He’s the first for over two decades.