Why 49ers Qb Brock Purdy Isn't Fully To Blame For Interceptions Vs. Panthers

Why 49ers QB Brock Purdy isn't fully to blame for interceptions vs. Panthers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SANTA CLARA – The 49ers were the better team Monday at Levi’s Stadium whenever coach Kyle Shanahan dialed up a play for Christian McCaffrey, which happened more often against the Carolina Panthers than it had in all but one of San Francisco’s previous 11 games.

The problem was that Shanahan apparently wanted to showcase quarterback Brock Purdy off to a national television audience and kept calling for passing plays, even when it seemed clear that the best plan of attack was to keep feeding McCaffrey.

That’s how the evening started at least, with Shanahan calling McCaffrey’s number on the first five plays of the game (two runs, three catches) and nine times on San Francisco’s opening drive that ended in a touchdown, setting a tone on a night when the NFL’s most productive offensive player continued to stack his chips.

McCaffrey had 142 all-purpose yards, was the team’s leading rusher and receiver, and had a touchdown in the 49ers’ 20-9 win on “Monday Night Football.”

Yet even while the ground game was humming along, Shanahan kept calling pass plays — which ultimately allowed the Panthers to stick around as long as they did.

And as good as Purdy has been, Monday night was far from his most shining moment.

The 27-year-old threw three interceptions on two poorly thrown passes that were behind the intended receiver and a third on a deep pass that was under-thrown and undercut by Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn. Purdy completed 23 of 32 throws, with most of his completions coming on checkdowns or swing passes to running backs, and had a 58.5 passer rating.

Afterward, Purdy shouldered the blame, although it seemed he could have been helped by better play-calling.

“Honestly the decisions of going to those spots, I was fine with,” Purdy explained after the game. “It’s just the execution of throwing a better ball. All of [the interceptions]. I need to just drive the ball a little bit more, and I kept it up in the air too long on multiple of them. 

“That’s on me. I thought our receivers did a great job of getting separation and winning. So it’s just execution wise.”

It wasn’t just all on Purdy. 

Carolina entered the day with the NFL’s 21st-ranked run defense that had been gouged four 596 yards over its previous four games, so the 49ers’ plan seemed pretty simple going in: McCaffrey, McCaffrey, McCaffrey and more McCaffrey.

It worked like a charm on San Francisco’s opening drive, when the 49ers methodically marched 72 yards for a touchdown with a nice blend of running and passing.

That all seemed to go out the door after that, which raises some questions.

Before Monday, the Panthers had a 5-1 record against teams that threw the ball 30 or more times. Conversely, they were 2-4 when limiting teams to fewer than 30 attempts, which is logical given how poor Carolina’s run defense has been.

On this day, however, Purdy threw almost as many passes as running attempts by San Francisco (38).

There was some speculation that Purdy’s nagging toe injury might have played a role in how he played, but the quarterback brushed that excuse off.

“Toe is fine,” Purdy said. “It’s really just seeing the play develop, anticipating and letting rip at the end of the day. It had nothing to do with my toe.”

Several of Purdy’s teammates kept trying to prop him up after the turnovers, insisting he stay with the same approach and style.

“I just said to just take a deep breath,” tight end George Kittle said. “ ’You’ve been here pretty good. Just breathe. Let it out. Move on to the next play.’ He’s a professional.”

Shanahan blamed the interceptions on Purdy being too late on some his passes.

“You’ve got to put it in front of [receivers],” Shanahan said. “He had it a little behind them on all three, and all three of those corners made him pay.”

Almost to a man, the 49ers players voiced their support for Purdy, who said his confidence remains high even after the troika of turnovers,

“I can handle this,” Purdy said. “As a quarterback you can’t lose confidence in yourself. You can’t shrivel back. Obviously, I don’t want to have that kind of performance. But with an NFL quarterback you have games like this, and it’s all about how you prepare and get better and move on to the next.

“The greats and the good quarterbacks, they don’t dwell on the past. They’re able to go through some bumpy trials and stuff and then learn from it and keep going. So that’s the challenge ahead of me, and I’m excited for it.”

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