Brock Purdy threw a career-high four interceptions in the 49ers’ 33-19 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night, but his coach clarified that it’s not as easy to hold him accountable for his poor selections.
But Kyle Shanahan thought his young quarterback made a poor play that resulted in the interception that stopped the 49ers’ opening drive.
Shanahan said over a conference call on Tuesday, “I understand what he saw.” A little moment of silence passed, and he responded by letting it fly. After the first few plays, he was probably feeling quite good and felt he could fit it in, but he can’t against that coverage. That was a poor choice.
After the 49ers moved to the Ravens’ 15-yard line, Purdy noticed Deebo Samuel running to his right and finding an opening between two Baltimore defenders in the end zone. Nonetheless, Kyle Hamilton, a safety for the Ravens, read the play and leaped the route to intercept Purdy’s ball.
Purdy’s second interception, in Shanahan’s opinion, was more acceptable. The quarterback was under pressure, and Ravens CB Brandon Stephens made a spectacular play by tipping the ball to teammate Marlon Humphrey, who made the interception, even though Purdy completed the correct checkdown pass.
Shanahan remarked, “The others were really unfortunate plays.” They put us in a corner blitz while we were in a run play. Purdy had an escape route, but he needed to toss it over the opponent. The opponent made a fantastic move by jumping and tilting it, and the other corner on the back side ultimately picked it up.
Although Purdy’s third interception seemed to be his worst play of the evening, Shanahan once more demonstrated a clear understanding of his quarterback’s thought process. Purdy attempted a prospecting pass to tight end George Kittle with multiple penalty flags already in the air, but Hamilton intercepted the pass for his second interception of the game.
Shanahan remarked, “The next one was a scramble on a third-and-7.” “He really threw George a 50/50 ball, and 14 [Hamilton] got another pick, and 44 [Humphrey] did a great job getting his hand in there and tipping it up in the air.”
Purdy’s fourth interception, according to Shanahan, resulted from yet another excellent play by the Ravens defense applying pressure to the quarterback.
Shanahan remarked, “He made the right read that one in the third quarter.” The Mike linebacker made the wise choice to go to his checkdown after getting taken advantage of by Brandon Aiyuk. However, he was being struck directly on his right arm as he was throwing. The ball caught a pick after bouncing up in the air.
The 49ers will have one less day to evaluate their performance, grow from their errors, and reorganize before they play the Washington Commanders on Sunday. However, it’s evident that Purdy isn’t the only one watching the movie closely.
