The 49ers quarterback is toting the fine line between being aggressive and making smart decisions.
The San Francisco 49ers are looking to bounce back this weekend against the Washington Commanders after a tough Monday Night Football loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
While the 49ers struggled on both sides of the ball, it was, in particular, a tough outing for quarterback Brock Purdy, who had his first four-interception game before leaving the game with a stinger.
With a mix of fluke plays and poor decisions, the 49ers were left behind the eight-ball with their turnovers, ultimately losing by 14 points in a game that seemed over by the beginning of the third quarter.
What was the issue for Purdy and the 49ers offensively?
“I feel like our game plan was good just in terms of what we wanted to get done,” Purdy said. “It was just the execution part of it that I feel like I didn’t do a good enough job. I think our mindset and everything going into it was good, but I fell short in terms of making it happen.”
“So when we watched the film and stuff, our plays were there, there was plays to be made there. We felt good getting through the film and going, man, we were right there and we had everything I feel like dialed up pretty good. I just didn’t execute well. So yeah, if we see them again down the road, obviously we’d be excited to play them and all that, but we’re just taking it one day at a time and we’ll see how it all goes.”
The 49ers could see a rematch against the Ravens in the Super Bowl, should both teams make it, but there’s a long process for the team to reach that objective.
One of those steps? Brock Purdy learning how to work the fine line of being aggressive, as well as smart with the football.
“The games that I’ve played in there’s a fine line of obviously ripping something that’s a tight window or tight contested, but at the same time being smart with the ball in the situation of wherever the game is at,” Purdy said.
Now having experienced nearly a full season and a half as a starter, Purdy has started to learn the difference and Monday’s loss served as a good learning experience for the cause.
“So for myself, I’ve played in enough games where I think I understand when and where I can be aggressive, and take a chance, take a shot, and when I should progress, check it down, throw it away, those kinds of things,” Purdy said. “Like I said, it’s a situational kind of thing, and football is a game of situations. So that’s where I have to grow and continue to bank on experiences that I’ve gone through. But at the same time, being a quarterback in the NFL, you’ve got to be able to take some chances and some risks and some windows at the right time. That’s what I’m learning right now.”
While a lot of the interceptions were subjective on who the blame ultimately landed on, Purdy took accountability for the first decision, where he acknowledged that he pushed the boundary of being too aggressive.
“Yeah, that drive we had two really explosive plays, the third down and then the next play after that to [TE] George [Kittle] again,” Purdy said, breaking down the drive. “So it’s like the emotion, everything’s built up, we’re feeling good and then we call this play with what wasn’t the right coverage. So for myself, it’s like, ‘all right, dude, progress and check it down.’ In the moment for myself, I was aggressive. I was like, ‘all right, just had two big plays, I’m trying to fit this one in.’ Which obviously looking back on it was not the right decision, wasn’t the smart play as a quarterback.”
“That’s something that I have to grow in, in terms of you make some big plays and stuff, but every play has a life of its own. Now whatever play is next, you’ve got to play the play the right way and not just feed off the emotion and everything that you felt from the previous plays. So, that’s something that I had to learn the hard way.”
Now facing the Commanders in Week 17, Purdy will look to take the learning experience to the playing field as the 49ers try and set themselves up with the No. 1 seed in the NFC ahead of the playoffs.
But, taking accountability and sharing an authentic reflection about his performance this Monday, Purdy is putting his four-interception Monday Night game behind him and looking to prove himself once again.
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