Brandon Allen Seems to be Winning the 49ers' Backup QB Competition
![Tennessee Titans cornerback Elijah Molden (24) pressures San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brandon Allen (17) during their first preseason game of the 2024-25 season at Nissan Stadium Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. Tennessee Titans cornerback Elijah Molden (24) pressures San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brandon Allen (17) during their first preseason game of the 2024-25 season at Nissan Stadium Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2308,h_1298,x_0,y_562/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_49ers/01j50yjdtxvarqbtw3g6.jpg)
After one preseason game, Brandon Allen seems to have a slight lead over Joshua Dobbs in the most boring backup quarterback competition of all time.
Allen got to play the entire first half of the 49ers' preseason loss to the Titans and Dobbs got to play the entire second half. I'm guessing next week against the Saints, Dobbs will start and Allen will play in the second half. Fair is fair.
So this competition is far from over. But for now, Allen clearly is the leader, as he should be. He knows the system -- he was on the team last year. Dobbs is new, an outsider. And while he's extremely smart, even the smartest players take about a season to master Kyle Shanahan's offense.
Against the Titans, Allen completed 7 of 13 pass attempts for 98 yards. His passer rating was 78.4. He was not special. But he also threw two accurate deep passes -- one to Tay Martin, the other to Ronnie Bell -- both of which were dropped. So he played better than his numbers indicate.
Dobbs completed 14 of 20 passes for 148 yards and 1 touchdown. He also ran once for a six-yard touchdown. So he made some plays, too. But he committed a turnover and threw another pass that nearly was intercepted. Plus he took a 15-yard sack because he ran backward away from pressure. So he made more negative plays than Allen.
I'm guessing both backups will make the team but Allen will be the first quarterback off the bench if Brock Purdy gets injured.