The national narrative around second-year quarterback Brock Purdy has done a full 180 after the 49ers lost their second consecutive game Monday night.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who once was a believer in the young quarterback, has seen enough to lose all faith in the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
“I’ve lost confidence in him because I had a belief in him,” Smith said Tuesday morning on “First Take.” “Twenty touchdowns, just two interceptions in his first 10 regular-season starts. That’s what we were looking at with Brock Purdy. Yeah, you look at the system that [49ers coach] Kyle Shanahan was putting in place, but ultimately you looked at Brock Purdy and you compared him to the other quarterbacks that were there and compared to what they were doing and you were saying, ‘This is the dude, this is the guy and this is the future.’
“I’m not saying that that’s still not the case, but I’m looking at the velocity of some of his throws, his arm strength, etc., and I’m saying he doesn’t have the strongest arm in the world, obviously timing factors into the equation. You’re looking at the chemistry he had with Deebo Samuel and [Brandon] Aiyuk and obviously Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle. But with Deebo Samuel out, not having that reliable component to throw the ball to, it seems to have compromised him to such a degree.”
Purdy had the first two-interception game of his career in San Francisco’s 22-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The 23-year-old signal-caller emerged as the 49ers’ starter in 2022 following season-ending injuries to former San Francisco quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo.
Up until San Francisco’s Week 6 loss to the Cleveland Browns, Purdy had yet to lose a game that he started and finished. But San Francisco’s dominant 5-0 start to the season reached a harsh reality check in Cleveland and then a second straight humbling in Minneapolis.
The good news for 49ers fans is that Purdy never has been one to get too high or too low. Even while experiencing nothing but success in the NFL, he never got too ahead of himself.
But now he, and the rest of the team, will look forward and try to get back in the win column as the 49ers head back home to host Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. And maybe, just maybe, the doubters will become believers once again.
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Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
