49ers don't need to worry about Brock Purdy despite Week 6 letdown
A lot of things went against Brock Purdy in his first defeat in a game he has started and finished for the San Francisco 49ers, but the quarterback was only focused on owning his mistakes after an agonizing loss to the Cleveland Browns. Purdy was previously 12-0 in such contests, but a confluence of factors, […]
A lot of things went against Brock Purdy in his first defeat in a game he has started and finished for the San Francisco 49ers, but the quarterback was only focused on owning his mistakes after an agonizing loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Purdy was previously 12-0 in such contests, but a confluence of factors, including injuries to two of his foremost offensive weapons, sloppy execution and an offensive line that seemed overmatched against the Cleveland defense, resulted in him producing his worst game as a pro.
The final pick in the 2022 draft finished 12 of 27 for 125 yards a touchdown and his first interception since Week 16 of last season. With Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey out of the lineup, the offense was noticeably out of sync, pre-snap penalties and Purdy's inability to deliver the ball with his usual accuracy against a Browns defense unhindered by the gravity of San Francisco's two most versatile players putting an attack that was averaging over 33 points a game in reverse.
It was what Purdy failed to do when McCaffrey was still on the field that ultimately came back to haunt the 49ers, his most notable miss an overthrow of the do-it-all running back.
Had Purdy produced a catchable ball, McCaffrey likely would have strolled into the endzone for a touchdown that would have put the Niners ahead 17-7 late in the second quarter.
Purdy's first interception of the campaign also came when the Niners were down just Samuel, sailing a throw over the head of Brandon Aiyuk and into the arms of Martin Emerson Jr.
The quarterback who came into the game as the betting favorite for MVP appeared to struggle gripping and delivering the ball in changeable conditions, and he accepted the blame for those miscues and for the pre-snap issues that continually put the 49ers behind the sticks in the second half against a ferocious defensive front.
"It's the NFL,” Purdy said. "You get opportunities, and you’ve got to take advantage of them. There were definitely some throws and opportunities that I feel like got away from me and I missed on them. That made us get behind the sticks and which is tough on the road here, and it’s something I got to learn from.
"Definitely going to be real about it. We all got to look at ourselves in the mirror and see the flaws and stuff, and you got to get better from it. But it starts with me."
He added of his struggles getting the offense going with backups: "That’s on me, being able to help out when guys like Ray-Ray [McCloud] and J.J. [Jauan Jennings] are going to play more, and Elijah [Mitchell] coming in. I have to do a better job at just communicating to them in the huddle, giving them some sort of expectations of what’s to come, in terms of the play.
“That’s something I got to be better at. We got good players and I’m confident in whoever comes in, even if Deebo and Christian aren’t able to go, we got good players."
The 49ers' number of talented players is a huge reason why Purdy has thrived since taking over as starter. However, Purdy did eventually produce a reminder of what he can do on the final drive that would have been a game-winning one had Jake Moody not fluffed his lines with the decisive field goal.
Though he benefited from a third down pass interference penalty on that series, Purdy found the rhythm, poise and accuracy that have been defining features of his remarkable rise, a pair of completions to Aiyuk and another to Jennings putting the Niners in position to win the game.
Nothing Purdy did in Week 6 was spectacular. Much of it was bad, but the mistakes he made are ones he has bounced back from already this season. Purdy shook off a poor showing with the deep ball in Week 2 to deliver a series of impressive downfield shots in the subsequent three games and, though the 49ers will cross their fingers over the injuries to McCaffrey and Samuel, their quarterback has enough of a rapport with Aiyuk and George Kittle to excel without them, at least in the short term.
Between the opponent, the conditions and the adversity caused by injuries, Purdy was swimming against the tide in Week 6. That does not excuse a severely underwhelming performance, but it's unlikely Purdy will be tasked with overcoming such a combination of obstacles on a regular basis.
Still, down a stretch run that includes road games in Seattle and Philadelphia, there is certain to be adversity for the San Francisco quarterback. The good news is that his comments in response to his worst game since entering the NFL leave no doubt he will take the lessons from a chastening afternoon in Cleveland to help him be better prepared for the late-season gauntlet that could decide how far this 49ers vintage goes.
49ers still the NFL’s gold standard after loss to Browns
The defeat hasn’t changed their position.
