Brock Purdy could end up on the bench if things go south against the Cincinnati Bengals.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy did not deliver for the second week in a row, and it could be curtains for Week 8 and a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
That’s how Grant Cohn sees it in “All 49ers” from Sports Illustrated. Purdy looked unstoppable last season when he filled in for the injured Jimmy Garoppolo. That has continued in just Purdy’s first five games this season, but questions are being raised after 17-point efforts in losses to the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings. – He made things look so easy in the first 10 games of his career. He barely broke a sweat. But now he lost some key teammates to a raid, and suddenly he was playing so poorly that he was one of the main reasons the 49ers lost both games, Cohn wrote.
Purdy couldn’t move the ball on offense in Game 15 against the Browns. in October when he passed for 125 yards. Against the Vikings, Purdy threw a career-worst two interceptions on Monday, October 23rd. Cincinnati is behind both the Browns and Vikings in total defense. The Bengals are allowing 355.8 yards and 21.2 points per game.
“So if he plays poorly against the Bengals and is one of the main reasons they lose against Cincinnati, the 49ers could turn to Sam Darnold after the bye week,” Cohn wrote.
The 49ers signed former second-round pick Darnold as a backup. He won the second job in training camp, beating out former 49ers quarterback Trey Lance. “Of course, none of us expect Purdy to struggle against the Bengals — most people still think he’s a good quarterback,” Cohn wrote. “But most people thought he was going to beat the Browns and Vikings. Instead, he threw three picks in those games, including two late in the Vikings loss when he had a chance to bring the 49ers back and be the hero. .
The 49ers don’t do enough in the run game
Part of the 49ers’ problems stemmed from him not doing what the team does best on offense — running the ball with quarterback Christian McCaffrey. The Vikings held McCaffrey to 45 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and the 49ers had 65 total yards.
“The 49ers pass the ball less often than almost any team in the NFL — they don’t want their quarterback to make mistakes and lose games. Kyle Shanahan feels he can win regardless of his quarterbacks,” Cohn wrote.
San Francisco has the third most pass attempts in the league with 220 and the fourth fewest with 194. Against the Vikings, the opposite seems true, as the 49ers rushed just 22 times, but relied on Purdy for 30 pass attempts, his second. the most this season.
Purdy threw more passes in 21 against the New York Giants, 37 on September, but the Niners led the way.
Returns elude Brock Purdy
Purdy and the 49ers’ failed comebacks now raise questions about whether the second-year signal caller can consistently lead the team to late-game victories. Purdy has led a fourth quarter comeback just twice in his short career. His first win came in January against the Las Vegas Raiders, 37-34, followed by a 19-12 playoff comeback against the Dallas Cowboys.
If Purdy and the 49ers get behind the Bengals in Week 8, he’ll have to lead his third career comeback after the last two games. If not, Darnold could throw passes to the Niners, as Cohn mentioned.
“So much is at stake for Purdy this weekend,” Cohn wrote. Matthew Davis covers the NFL for Heavy.com, focusing on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers. As a writer for the StarTribune, he has also covered Minnesota prep sports since 2016. Learn more about Matthew Davis
