Why Purdy believes he ‘failed the team’ in 49ers loss to Rams

Why Purdy believes he ‘failed the team’ in 49ers loss to Rams was originally published on NBC Sports Bay Area

SANTA CLARA – The Los Angeles Rams scored six touchdowns in a shootout over the Buffalo Bills four days earlier.

On Thursday, the 49ers kept a potent Rams offense out of the end zone.

It still wasn’t enough for the 49ers, as the offense’s streak of 102 consecutive games with at least one touchdown was snapped.

And quarterback Brock Purdy put the responsibility on his own shoulders.

“I just feel like I missed a lot of plays there that I could have made for our team,” Purdy said after the 49ers’ 12-6 loss that essentially eliminated them from playoff contention.

“I think the defense and special teams played so well. And that’s what hurts me, that I feel like I failed the team. I could have been better for our offense and we could have scored more points.”

Purdy completed just 14 of 31 passes for 142 yards with no touchdowns and one costly interception in the fourth quarter.

Three of Purdy’s four lowest rushing yardage totals have come in his last four starts as the 49ers lost for the fourth time in five weeks and fell to 6-8 on the season.

“I had to be better for this team and I didn’t play my best tonight,” Purdy said.

Purdy targeted Deeb Samuel with seven pass attempts. Samuel had three catches for just 16 yards. Samuel missed a possible touchdown when he dropped Purdy’s perfectly thrown pass on the post from the Los Angeles 29-yard line in the third quarter.

“I feel like if I make that play, we’re going to win the game,” Samuel said.

Purdy said, “Obviously we wish we’d come on a few more and we wish I was a little more accurate on some of the throws.”

Purdy’s biggest mistake came on a second-and-10 situation while the 49ers trailed 9-6 with 5:20 left in regulation.

Purdy took the chance with a deep shot to Jauan Jennings. The pass was tipped and Rams cornerback Darious Williams made the interception in the end zone.

Coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t necessarily disagree with Purdy’s decision based on what he saw when he let the ball fly down the field.

“Jauan started stuttering and the guy (Williams) kind of buckled his legs, so Brock threw it and tried to give Jauan a chance,” Shanahan said. “And when Jauan was coming out, he bumped into it a little bit, which slowed Jauan down and then there was just a corner. So it was an unfortunate game.”

Purdy explained why he attempted the throw. But he also understood why he shouldn’t have taken the chance on a second-down game when the 49ers were on the field goal line.

“I thought we had the right look when we took the corner and I thought we were going to get it and that’s when we tried to be aggressive and give JJ a chance and when I dropped the ball,” Purdy said.

Purdy said it’s a situation where he can learn to “be smart” and check the ball as far as possible.

49ers miss postseason for first time since 2020. Purdy takes responsibility. He vowed to end the season “the right way.”

“That’s what comes with playing quarterback and at that position,” Purdy said. “With the ball in your hands, you rely on making the right decisions at the right moment. That’s something we’ll definitely have to learn from moving forward.”

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