Shanahan laments one of Purdy's best games yet taking turn vs. Vikings
Shanahan laments one of Purdy's best games yet taking turn vs. Vikings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Programming note: Watch Kyle Shanahan's full interview with Greg Papa on "49ers Game Plan," airing Friday at 11 p.m. after "Dubs Talk Live" on NBC Sports Bay Area, and at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Bay Area
The NFL is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business, with 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy coming under fire following a pair of turnovers in the fourth quarter of San Francisco's Week 7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
On this week's episode of "49ers Game Plan," Kyle Shanahan explained to Greg Papa that Purdy's performance in Minnesota was on-track to be among the best in his career prior to the young quarterback throwing interceptions on San Francisco's final two possessions.
"Obviously, those two picks at the end weren't very good, but before that, I thought it could have been at least tied for his best game," Shanahan told Papa. "He was playing unbelievable there. Some of the throws he made down the field in that pocket with all the zero blitzes, what he was handling, I thought he was pretty flawless throughout the game. But there's two plays he'd love to have back."
Before Purdy's first interception with 5:36 remaining in the fourth quarter, he looked as strong as ever, going 19-for-24 for 252 yards with a touchdown and a 124.3 passer rating.
After facing a double-digit deficit in the first half, Purdy displayed tremendous poise against an aggressive Vikings defense that has been the most blitz-heavy team in the NFL by a wide margin this season.
Shanahan also shared that the game-sealing interception thrown by Purdy was of little concern to him due to the limited options the 49ers had at piecing together a game-winning drive with no timeouts remaining and such a short window of time to operate in.
"The last one wasn't as bad; we've got to take a shot anyways," Shanahan said. "When you don't have timeouts, and you're 40 yards away from a touchdown, and there's only 30 seconds left, if you land inbounds, you got three plays because you can go up in clock it. If you land the second one inbounds, you only have two plays, so you've got to take a shot. He tried to get it over that guy, and that guy made a hell of a play."
Purdy entered concussion protocol following Monday night's loss in Minnesota, with plenty of speculation pointing to a helmet-to-helmet hit on an attempted quarterback sneak just before his first interception as the cause.
Purdy's very next pass attempt following the blow to his head was an extremely uncharacteristic turnover by his standards, with further statistical evidence strongly suggesting there is a direct correlation between the hit and subsequent drop-off in what was a high level of play before the collision.
After completing 79 percent of his passes for an average of 9.5 yards per attempt, Purdy finished the game 2 of 6 for 20 yards with two interceptions following the blow to his head.
Publicly, Purdy's stock has dipped following the first losing streak of his young NFL career, but based on Shanahan's comments, the coach's confidence in his quarterback appears to be unwavering on the heels of back-to-back losses.
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