Why the 49ers Could Bench Brock Purdy at the Bye Week
Brock Purdy won the first 10 regular season games of his career. But if he loses Sunday to the Bengals, that would be three losses in a row, and the 49ers just might have to bench him.
So much is at stake for Purdy this weekend.
He made things look so easy for the first 10 games of his career. He barely broke a sweat. But now he has lost a couple key teammates on his offense, and suddenly he has played so poorly in back to back losses that he has been one of the primary reasons the 49ers lost both games.
So if he plays poorly against the Bengals and is one of the main reasons they lose to Cincinnati, the 49ers might have to turn to Sam Darnold after the Bye week.
Of course, none of us expect Purdy to struggle against the Bengals -- most people still think he's a good quarterback. But most people thought he would beat the Browns and the Vikings. Instead, he threw three picks in those games, including two at the end of the Vikings loss when he had opportunities to bring the 49ers back from behind and be a hero.
The 49ers pass the ball less frequently than just about every team in the NFL -- they don't want their quarterback to make mistakes and lose games. Kyle Shanahan feels they can win in spite of their quarterback.
Purdy gave away the game against the Vikings with his interceptions at the end. If he does that against the Bengals, don't be surprised if the 49ers say his arm hurts and they bench him for a while.
