SANTA CLARA — It wasn’t so long ago when October looked like it would be “Brocktober,” with the 49ers riding the wave of their unlikely second-year quarterback to an 8-0 record heading into the bye week, casting an eye toward the playoffs and Super Bowl LVIII.
It seems like a lifetime ago after three consecutive losses, with Brock Purdy throwing two bad interceptions that helped account for the final margin Sunday in a demoralizing 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Levi’s Stadium.
That’s five interceptions over the last three games after throwing none over the first five. There was almost a sixth — wiped out by penalty — in the final minutes, and then Purdy lost the ball anyway on a sack-fumble as Cincinnati was celebrating after improving its record to 4-3.
Purdy became a national story in part because of good judgment, the ability to straddle the line between risk and reward and above all staying away from turnovers.
“Even when you’re trying to make something happen, be smart with it as well,” Purdy said. “There’s definitely a fine line to it and I learned the hard way today.”
Purdy was 22 of 31 and threw for 365 yards — his most in an NFL game. But make no mistake, the championship-level quarterback was on the other side of the field. Joe Burrow was a coolly efficient 28 of 32 for 283 yards and three touchdowns, delivering dimes when the 49ers needed interceptions.
This would hardly be a story back in September, when Purdy was still a curiosity and Burrow was rightly regaled as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, paid as such to the tune of a $55 million average salary.
Purdy, whose two interceptions helped derail what could have been his first come-from-behind NFL win, is making $870,000 on the deal he signed after being a seventh-round draft pick in 2022.
The first pick came with the 49ers trailing 17-10 and Purdy driving the 49ers from their own 24 to the Cincinnati 8 as the third quarter was winding down. Out of a shotgun on first-and-goal, Purdy was supposed to shovel the ball to George Kittle, except he believed Kittle to be covered and instead he held the ball.
Germaine Pratt with the interception of the day?! 🔥 #RuleTheJungle
📺: #CINvsSF on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/Zs1DbQrKc1— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023
Purdy rolled out, saw Elijah Mitchell in the corner of the end zone, and instead threw it directly into the path of linebacker Germaine Pratt. It was a mistake on two fronts, because linemen were already downfield, which would have been a penalty anyway.
“That’s on me,” Purdy said.
Early in the fourth quarter, with the score still 17-10 after the 49ers’ defense got the ball back (something that didn’t happen often enough), Purdy threw toward Brandon Aiyuk over the middle and instead threw it directly to linebacker Logan Wilson for the interception.
On the next play, Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase for a 17-yard touchdown.
Ballgame.
YEEEEHAW#CINatSF | 📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/ut0ScQ6IuV
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) October 29, 2023
Besides the three losses, Purdy also weathered a concussion, clearing protocol Saturday after limited practice.
“I felt 100 percent all week,” Purdy said. “My symptoms weren’t bad.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan and Purdy’s teammates remained in his corner, acknowledging the mistakes but all repeating different variations of “We wouldn’t been in the game without him.”
Linebacker Fred Warner said, `Brock is the least of my worries. Brock is made of the right stuff.”
“He took ownership for his mistakes,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “He played awesome, I thought, except for a couple plays. I think a lot of people on this team feel the same way.”
Yet part of what made Purdy so good through five games was a symbiosis with his teammates. They made him better and he made them better. After three straight games of 17 points after going for 30 or more in each of the first five, the 49ers’ offense is suddenly mistake-prone and scattershot.
As good as Purdy has been on anticipatory throws — he completed some passes Sunday that Trey Lance or Jimmy Garoppolo could only dream of — ideally the 49ers would like to stay in third-and-6 or better, pile up first downs and sit on a lead if at all possible.
It’s a format that worked with Garoppolo and was working even better with Purdy. After the high of the 42-10 wipeout of Dallas on Oct. 8, the 49ers have issues in all three phases and have been sliced and diced in back-to-back weeks by Kirk Cousins and Burrow.
Last season and through the hot streak this season, Purdy didn’t run all that often, although he occasionally bought time with his legs. He’s running much more often of late because plays are breaking down. He finished with a team-high 57 yards rushing on nine carries — 43 of them in the first half.
Rather than precise execution, Purdy is being creative more than Shanahan ever planned.
If Purdy and not Christian McCaffrey (12 rushes, 54 yards) is your leading rusher, something is wrong in Shanahan’s offense. The steady dose of outside-zone runs mixed with occasional gap-scheme run hasn’t been seen for the last three weeks and it’s a focal point of the 49ers’ offense.
What the 49ers need to realize over the next two weeks as they await their next game in Jacksonville on Nov. 12 is that they don’t need Purdy to do more. They need him to do less while they go back to being stubborn on the ground and more efficient.
If the defense can’t get its issues worked out, things become that much more difficult for Purdy and everyone else.
Win or lose, it’s been the same Purdy in every setting. Calm, self-critical and with a sense of perspective borne of religious faith and common sense.
“We’ve got three losses and the quarterback takes a lot,” Purdy said. “I take that on myself to be better for this team and help this team win. But who I am and what I stand for, that doesn’t change.”