49eers HC Kyle Shanahan Explains Brock Purdy's Pivotal Miss

Brock Purdy had Brandon Aiyuk wide open late in the game against the Rams that would've iced the win for the 49ers. Kyle Shanahan explains what happened.

Sep 22, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass in the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers had plenty of chances to ice the game against the Los Angeles Rams.

One chance that stands out the most was late in the game. The 49ers were up 24-17 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. On a first down play, Brock Purdy had Brandon Aiyuk running wide open down the left side of the field.

Purdy is looking at Aiyuk but fails to pull the trigger. Aiyuk will likely take it in for a score if he lets it rip. At the very least, it puts the 49ers in full control to ice the game. Missing Aiyuk was the worst mistake made by the 49ers thanks to Purdy despite having an amazing performance.

Failing to target Aiyuk initially indicated a lack of trust with Purdy. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked why Purdy didn't pass it to Aiyuk on that play. Here is what he had to say about it.

“They busted a coverage and B.A. had a deep curl route. They busted a coverage, so B.A. did the right thing and just took off and went to that hole," said Shanahan. "It kind of caught Brock by surprise because B.A. was number two in the progression and when he looked to him B.A. wasn't in the right spot because they busted a coverage and he went down the field and Brock thought about it, he just wasn't sure where the rest of the safety was or anything, since he wasn't anticipating that to happen. It would've worked, obviously, if he let it go, but that happens sometimes. Defense busts a coverage and if you're not looking at the guy the whole time, all of a sudden it turns it into a go route, you can't always just let it rip.”

I'm not buying the "he didn't know where the safety was" excuse here. The safety for the Rams was clearly dropping into coverage toward the right side of the field. It makes no sense for Purdy to not have spotted that at the initial snap. While Purdy was taken by surprise that Aiyuk turned upfield instead of running the curl, he is supposed to take that chance with his best wide receiver.

He needs to recognize what is going on, but he failed. He didn't trust the look, which means he didn't trust Aiyuk. As a result, the 49ers would devastatingly lose the game. Purdy is an exceptional quarterback. That is a play that he has to make. He would've gone from having an amazing performance to being the hero of the game.

Perhaps once Purdy and Aiyuk strengthen their connection that a play like that won't be missed again.