For a third straight week, the San Francisco 49ers couldn’t score more than 17 points and play turnover free with quarterback Brock Purdy.
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t put it all on the second-year quarterback, however, after a 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Purdy completed 71% of his passes and threw for 365 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two interceptions in defeat on Sunday, October 29.
“He made some bad picks there at the end,” Shanahan told reporters after the game. “I thought he was one of the reasons we were in the game today. Some of those throws he made out there were unbelievable. The mistake in the red zone missing the handoff was the biggest part. And then once you do that, you can’t throw it or you’re going to get the penalty, but [it’s] worse that he got the pick. He was aggressive.”
Brock Purdy this season:
First five games: 9 TD, 0 INT
Last three games: 3 TD, 5 INT
The 49ers have lost 3 straight 👀
Purdy had a chance to tie the game in the third quarter before that first pick, and the Bengals made him pay even more on the second pick. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow floated a touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase for a 17-touchdown and 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
“Thought the Mike [linebacker Logan Wilson] was going to pass on that second pick, and the Mike fell off right with Jauan [wide receiver Jauan Jennings]. So you’ve just got to see it,” Shanahan said about the second pick.
While Purdy marched the Niners back down field for a score, San Francisco’s defense couldn’t hold back the Bengals on a 10-play scoring drive. Things went south for Purdy on the following drive as he lost the ball on a strip sack by Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, which sealed the game.
Brock Purdy’s Slide isn’t Isolated
It leaves the 49ers reeling going into the bye week. The 49ers started off hot 5-0 with Purdy shining amid nine touchdowns versus zero interceptions.
Since the 5-0 start, Purdy has three touchdowns versus five interceptions. That’s also amid key injuries to the likes of wide receiver Deebo Samuel and offensive tackle Trent Williams.
“I think we need to run the ball better, we need to score more points, we need to slow guys down better, whether it’s with pass rush, whether it’s doing better on first and second down,” Shanahan said about the team’s issues.
49ers Need to Get Better Quickly
While the 49ers had 113 yards on the ground, 57 yards of that came from Purdy running. The 49ers defense meanwhile gave up a season-high 31 points.
“I’ll talk to them more tomorrow but my message was we got to take that [game]. I mean, we didn’t play well,” Shanahan said. “That team beat us straight up. … But the bottom line to them was, you know, we gotta get better in every aspect. The things that disappointed me today are some of the fundamentals, just throwing and catching, tackling.”
San Francisco has two weeks to recover from this losing streak before a critical game on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 10. The Jaguars have been on a tear of late with five-consecutive wins, and the team also has bye before that Week 10 game.
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Kyle Shanahan Address Brock Purdy’s Mistakes in Loss vs. Bengals