The San Francisco 49ers suffered another loss, extending their losing streak to three games. As a result, quarterback Brock Purdy has become the subject of national criticism until their next game in two weeks.
This was the topic of discussion on ESPN’s “First Take” on Monday morning, with Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe, and Dan Orlovsky debating whether the 49ers are facing a quarterback problem.
“Everything you just described points to a quarterback problem. If you have a quarterback who can’t answer the call when going up against Joe Burrow, then that is a quarterback problem,” argued Smith. “I understand that [George] Kittle had 149 receiving yards, [Brandon] Aiyuk had 109 receiving yards, and Purdy threw for 365 yards. From a statistical perspective, it looks like a good day.”
“But here’s the thing. In games where they are tied or trailing in the second half, Purdy has only thrown two touchdown passes and seven interceptions. We have to take that into consideration.”
The absence of San Francisco wide receiver Deebo Samuel in the last two games due to a shoulder injury has significantly impacted the team’s once-dominant offense.
An additional setback for the offense has been the absence of star left tackle Trent Williams, who missed both the Week 7 game against the Minnesota Vikings and the Week 8 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Despite these challenges, Smith believes that as the team’s leader, Purdy should step up in their absence. He doesn’t think that the absence of one offensive weapon should have such a detrimental effect on Purdy and the team.
“With Deebo, Purdy has completed 71 percent of his passes, thrown eight touchdowns, zero interceptions, and has a passer rating of 121. Without Deebo, his completion percentage drops to 65 percent, with four touchdowns, five interceptions, and an 82.7 passer rating. That’s nearly a 40 percent drop-off,” said Smith. “I’m not saying Purdy can’t play or doesn’t deserve to be the starting quarterback. But when you have [Brandon] Aiyuk, [Christian] McCaffrey, [George] Kittle, and Kyle Shanahan, and the absence of just one player causes problems, then you’re the problem. As a quarterback, how much more do you need? There are plenty of quarterbacks in the league who don’t have those complementary pieces and they manage. If you’re Brock Purdy, you need to find a way to step up.”
Smith does believe that Purdy will find a way to step up, and the 49ers haven’t lost faith in their quarterback. However, they acknowledge that there is a problem that needs to be fixed before their upcoming game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 12, although they don’t see it as a quarterback issue.
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