Analyst defends 49ers' Brock Purdy amid criticism
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is on the receiving end of quite a bit of criticism amid the club's three-game losing skid.
However, CBS Sports NFL analyst Chris Trapasso believes that Purdy was "outstanding" in this past Sunday's 31-17 defeat against the Cincinnati Bengals that dropped San Francisco to 5-3.
For a piece published Tuesday, Trapasso highlighted seven "high-caliber throws/plays" that Purdy made against the Bengals. In total, the 23-year-old completed 22-of-31 pass attempts for 365 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions versus Cincinnati, and he also rushed for 57 yards on six carries.
"His fourth-quarter interception by Logan Wilson was a total misread of the underneath defender," Trapasso acknowledged regarding Purdy's performance on Sunday. "Never saw him despite Wilson sinking directly into Purdy's passing lane."
As noted by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Monday he's not considering benching Purdy in favor of veteran Sam Darnold "because no one just changes their quarterback for no reason." It sounds like Trapasso agrees with Shanahan's handling of the position during the club's break.
"Ironically, one of Purdy's finest individual performances of the season came in a two-touchdown defeat at home," Trapasso added. "He generated more tremendous plays himself than usual, but a few turnovers ultimately doomed San Francisco against Cincinnati."
Trapasso isn't the only noteworthy member of the NFL community defending Purdy coming off Sunday's action. As shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone, analyst and Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and insisted Purdy "is playing some really good football" this fall.
According to ESPN stats, Purdy enters Week 9 ranked third in the NFL among qualified players with a 74.4 adjusted QBR, second with a 105.4 passer rating and first with an average of 9.1 yards per pass attempt on the season. He tossed 12 touchdown passes and five interceptions across San Francisco's first eight games, but all of those picks occurred over the past three contests.
The Niners will look to right the ship when they play at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 12. 6-2 Jacksonville is also on its bye in Week 9.
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