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The San Francisco 49ers had been arguably extra undermanned in Week 7 than they had been in Week 6. Christian McCaffrey was capable of play, however Deebo Samuel was unavailable after struggling a shoulder damage throughout the 49ers’ 19-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Trent Williams fought by an ankle damage to remain on the sector that day, however he was inactive towards the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night time. Brock Purdy has his work reduce out for him, on the street for a second consecutive week.
Not solely did the 49ers lose to the Vikings, they didn’t maintain the lead at any level throughout the recreation. These wide-open crossing routes didn’t current themselves, and the pocket was not constantly clear. San Fran didn’t rating till there was one minute remaining within the second quarter and would go on to lose the sport, 22-17. Purdy threw interceptions on the 49ers’ ultimate two drives of the sport.
In the course of the first half, Purdy performed properly, though unspectacularly. He was 11-for-13 for 122 yards. The 49ers had an opportunity to take an early lead on their first possession, and their falling quick was not Purdy’s fault. Kirk Cousins started the sport in “Primetime Kirk” mode and threw an interception on the opening drive of the sport. The 49ers superior the ball deep into Vikings’ territory, however McCaffrey misplaced a fumble. On the 49ers’ subsequent drive Jake Moody — who missed a possible game-winning area aim towards the Browns — did not convert on a 40-yard try.
There’s loads of blame to go round for the 49ers falling even farther from their perch because the clear-cut, finest group within the league. A number of gamers ought to have been higher — one defensive instance being Charvarius Ward — however when the 49ers had an opportunity to win late, Purdy regarded simply as uneasy as he did at instances towards the Browns.
With no Williams, the Vikings had been capable of apply stress and make Purdy far much less comfy within the pocket than he has been most of his NFL profession, for the second week in a row. The landing that San Francisco scored within the second half was a display go that McCaffrey took 35 yards to the home.
Purdy’s two fourth-quarter interceptions got here on passes that often fall into the palms of a participant sporting a gold helmet who has loads of YAC in entrance of him. The center of the sector has been a spot the place the 49ers can get enormous yardage features. As an alternative, they’ve had issues there for 2 video games in a row, and unhealthy performs in Week 7 halted potential game-winning drives.
Regardless that San Francisco is 5-2 on the season and has been largely dominant, Purdy has proven vulnerability all through this season. Simply because he has not thrown a substantial amount of interceptions doesn’t imply that his ball placement and decision-making have been infallible. PFF’s Steve Palazzolo co-signed NFL analyst Arif Hasan who identified that Purdy is fourth in turnover-worthy play fee this season.
The 49ers have a roster and training workers that’s able to making life a lot simpler for Purdy than it might have been if he was compelled onto the sector to quarterback a a lot much less steady group. He has largely made the proper choices, and has proven athleticism to create performs for his skill-position threats.
Nevertheless, these final two video games made public what had already been seen. Purdy has made some poor choices this season. Whereas the 49ers are coping with key offensive accidents, he’ll proceed to obtain much less forgiveness for his errors in judgment.
Willams and Samuel’s accidents haven’t been deemed season-ending. McCaffrey performed one week after not ending a recreation. To date, the 2023 49ers nonetheless seem like heading in the right direction in the direction of the highest of the NFC.
The convention shouldn’t be notably robust, and of the ten remaining video games on the 49ers’ schedule, solely 4 are towards the highest tier of the NFL — the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, and Baltimore Ravens. Except they undergo a rash of season-ending accidents, the NFC West title ought to belong to the 49ers.
Final season although, Purdy didn’t get the chance to place his skills on full show throughout the playoffs. The New York Giants had been overmatched, and his elbow went useless throughout the first quarter towards the Eagles.
Purdy goes to be examined the remainder of this season, and much more so in January. If he struggles, he could also be a younger late-round choose who can solely be faulted a lot, however that received’t salve the injuries of a Tremendous Bowl contender developing quick. As for the individuals who guess on him to guide arguably the most effective roster within the league to a championship, they deserve some questions if the 49ers don’t hoist a Lombard Trophy due to some poor QB decision-making.
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