San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy put up the worst performance of his career Christmas Night in a 33-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The sophomore signal caller and NFL MVP candidate threw four interceptions before being pulled in the second half after suffering a stinger to his throwing shoulder. This performance dropped him from No. 1 in the MVP odds and makes Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders a must win if the 49ers want to earn home-field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs.
There is some good news on this front. Purdy told reporters on Thursday that he’s feeling fine and will be ready to go on the road against the four-win Commanders. “No, it’s been good,” Brock Purdy said when asked about the injury. “Just got a lot of treatment done on it and everything. Sort of just work out the soreness within the whole shoulder area, trap area. But it feels good, so I’ll be good for this game.”
“You’ve gotta put your head down, go to work, and have that chip on your shoulder still. You have to continue to show to your teammates that you’re the guy,” Purdy told reporters. At 11-4 on the season, San Francisco is still favored to land the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the NFC Playoffs. It boasts the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Philadelphia Eagles and wins out over the Detroit Lions due to a better conference record.
While the 49ers are highly unlikely to clinch that spot against Washington on New Year’s Eve, getting back on track while taking on a team that’s lost 11 of 13 must be in the cards. That’s especially true with a Week 18 outing against a red-hot Los Angeles Rams team. The onus is on Purdy to put this past performance behind him.
