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49ers QB Brock Purdy Struggles Against the New Orleans Saints

Brock Purdy completed just 2 of 6 pass attempts for a measly 11 yards in three series against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night.

Grant Cohn

Aug 18, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass against the New Orleans Saints in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 18, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass against the New Orleans Saints in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
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Brock Purdy completed just 2 of 6 pass attempts for a measly 11 yards in three series against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night.

One of his passes almost was intercepted and another was forced into double coverage. He also got knocked down twice and finished the game with a quarterback rating of just 42.4.

To be fair, the Saints were playing their starting defense, and the 49ers were sitting all of their offensive starters except Jake Brendel, Colton McKivitz (two of the worst starters on the team) and Purdy. The 49ers even sat Jauan Jennings, Jordan Mason and Chris Conley, who are backups. Because those players are worth protecting, apparently.

In addition, Kyle Shanahan didn't call the plays. Instead, Klay Kubiak did.

It almost seems like Shanahan wanted people to see what Purdy looks like when he doesn't have an All-Star supporting cast and Shanahan calling plays. Wanted to show people how much Purdy still needs Shanahan and his weapons. Wanted to show how far down the totem pole Purdy really is.

How else do you explain Shanahan letting Purdy play against one of the best defenses in the league while almost all of his starting teammates didn't play? How else do you explain Shanahan letting Purdy get knocked to the ground twice while the starting offensive line is Jaylon Moore, Nick Zakelj, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni and Colton McKivitz?

The 49ers will have to decide next offseason whether they're going to offer Purdy a contract extension that will make him one of the highest-paid players in the league. Maybe Shanahan feels Purdy doesn't deserve all that money.

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Grant Cohn

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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