The San Francisco 49ers improved to 8-4 via an ugly 20-9 win over the Carolina Panthers (6-6) on Monday night.
That said, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy raised eyebrows when he tossed three first-half interceptions at Levi’s Stadium. As Stephen Douglas noted for Sports Illustrated, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked following the victory if he considered benching Purdy in favor of Mac Jones at any point during Monday’s contest.
Kyle Shanahan gives strong answer to Brock Purdy, Mac Jones question
“No,” Shanahan responded.
“You’ve got to think about all of it and why it’s happening,” Shanahan added about Purdy’s rough half, per Kirk Larrabee of 49ers WebZone. “It makes me a lot more hesitant if they’re all bad decisions and stuff, but he was seeing it right. They’re all really good decisions, just missed the throw on them, so I think it is a lot worse when you feel like he’s not making the right decisions.”
Purdy was making just his fourth start of the season after he missed time with a toe injury he suffered in Week 1 and then aggravated in Week 4. On Nov. 16, he largely looked like his best self when he completed 19-of-26 passes for 200 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 41-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals. However, it’s now fair to wonder if he’s still shaking off the rust that accumulated while he was sidelined.
As for Jones, he went 5-3 across the eight games that Purdy missed.
Is Brock Purdy still dealing with issues related to toe injury?
According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, Purdy admitted after Monday’s game that he “needed to drive the ball a little more” on the passes that were picked off by Carolina. Purdy also insisted his toe is no longer a problem.
“No, toe’s fine,” Purdy explained. “It’s really just seeing the plays develop and anticipation and letting it rip. Had nothing to do with my toe.”
Over his first four starts of the season, Purdy recorded eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions. On Nov. 30, he and the 49ers will play at a Cleveland Browns side that tallied 10 sacks in a win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12.
As of Tuesday morning, ESPN BET had the 49ers as 5.5-point road favorites against the 3-8 Browns.