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Kyle Shanahan Explains Why 49ers QB Brock Purdy’s Stats are Down

Last season, Purdy was an MVP candidate. This season, he's not.

Grant Cohn

Feb 7, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan speaks during a press conference before Super Bowl LVIII at Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Feb 7, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan speaks during a press conference before Super Bowl LVIII at Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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SANTA CLARA -- Brock Purdy is having a down season.

Last season, he was an MVP candidate. His 113 quarterback rating was the best in the NFL. His 31 touchdown passes were third most. And his 69.4 completion percentage was fourth best. He was a stud.

This season, his 91.2 quarterback rating ranks 17th, his 9 touchdown passes rank tied for 11th and his 63.9 completion ranks a mere 22nd. Mediocre across the board. And his seven interceptions are tied for fourth most. Not good.

So why are Purdy's numbers down?

"I think last year was one of the best years, statistically, ever, when you look at just the efficiency of a whole offense," said head coach Kyle Shanahan. "So I think it's hard to do that every year. I think when you're missing the NFL MVP (actually the offensive player of the year Christian McCaffrey), that doesn't help. Missing some receivers doesn't help him. But I think Brock's having a hell of a year, statistically also.”

Purdy might be having a hell of a year in Shananahan's eyes, but not according to the stats or the win column. Through seven games, Purdy is playing like a turnover-prone .500 quarterback. And he played most of those games with Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.

So if that's what Purdy plays like when McCaffrey isn't on the field, then the 49ers shouldn't give Purdy a long-term extension because McCaffrey's prime won't last much longer if it hasn't ended already.

Let's see if Shanahan can get Purdy back on track this week against the Cowboys.

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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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