49ers quarterback Brock Purdy entered his team’s Christmas Day meeting with the Ravens with an opportunity to make an MVP statement. Instead, he turned in a performance to forget before his night ended early due to an injury.
After he was sacked twice in a span of three plays in the fourth quarter, Purdy came up gingerly and entered the medical tent. With Purdy sidelined, he was replaced by Sam Darnold, who remained in the game after completing the drive with a touchdown.
Here is what we know about Purdy’s injury and how it played into an uncharacteristically poor showing for the MVP candidate.
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Brock Purdy injury update
According to ESPN’s Lisa Salters, Purdy has a shoulder stinger and was cleared to return with the 49ers trailing 33-19. The injury against Baltimore is an aggravation of a stinger he suffered in San Francisco’s Week 15 win over Arizona.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan explained after the game that he decided to finish the game with Darnold to protect Purdy given the deficit, the state of the offensive line and the quarterback’s performance in the contest.
“He stayed in there, kept battling,” Shanahan said of Purdy in a postgame news conference. “Our whole team struggled there in the second half, so it just wasn’t him. I know he was disappointed not being able to finish it there, but given that stinger again, I just wanted to keep him out of there. Ready for him to bounce back next week.”
Purdy provided more insight into Shanahan’s message that led him to spend the rest of the game on the sidelines.
“We had talked about the scenario of the game and where we were at,” Purdy said. “I just got a stinger and my arm was coming back, feeling normal and whatnot. So, he was just like where we were at the game and Sam had gone in and scored. He goes ‘for now we are just going to go with Sam with how things are going.’ We didn’t want anything else popping up with the stinger and all that kind of stuff. It was just where we were at situationally. Sam was doing good and we rolled with him.”
Purdy also explained that the stinger “wasn’t even a thing” until he aggravated it. After that, he said it “lit up again” and that caused him to “go through the protocol” while in the blue medical tent.
But overall, he didn’t seem too concerned about the state of his shoulder. Taking him out of the game simply was a protective move.
An injury to All-Pro LT Trent Williams was part of a rash of injuries to San Francisco’s staunch offensive line, each of which led to Baltimore’s pass rush getting to Purdy.
Here is the sequence that caused him to exit the game.
Brock Purdy was hurt and Sam Darnold entered the game. pic.twitter.com/NVofZXGWPL
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhiferNFL) December 26, 2023
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Brock Purdy stats today
Purdy was intercepted four times in a disappointing home loss to Baltimore, with three of the four picks coming in the first half. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Purdy is the first player to throw three interceptions in the first half of a game this season.
Whether it was a batted ball, an incredible defensive play or a miscommunication, each of the throws resulted in Baltimore gaining possession.
And while this type of performance is uncharacteristic for Purdy, it most certainly will have an impact on some of the MVP discussions that have featured his name. Here is how his performance unfolded.
As with many multi-interception games, several contributing factors led to Purdy’s picks; his first interception came in the end zone, thwarting a promising drive that appeared to be leading to points.
INTERCEPTION @kyledhamilton_!!!!!!#ProBowlVote | Tune in on ABC/ESPN!!!! pic.twitter.com/XB8pMN8HAQ
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 26, 2023
His second pick came after a batted ball and the third came as Kyle Hamilton made an incredible play after he was on the receiving end of an illegal chop block. Even more impressive is that it was Hamilton’s second interception of the game.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 26, 2023
As Purdy and the Niners looked to rally after trailing 16-12 at halftime, he threw his fourth interception just three minutes into the third quarter. Purdy remained on the field through his mistakes but the Ravens’ defense made their impact early and often and limited San Francisco’s potent offense.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 26, 2023
Given the number of playmakers on San Francisco’s offense, Purdy was still able to accumulate yardage but Williams’ absence impacted Purdy’s ability to make decisions in the pocket.
Stat Total Comp. % 56.3 Passing yards 255 Passing TDs 0 INTs 4 Yards/attempt 14.2 Passer rating 42.6
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