“[Brock] Purdy Once Again Couldn’t Handle the Blitz”: Colin Cowherd Doesn’t Blame Kyle Shanahan for Losing the Super Bowl

With Brock Purdy at the helm, the San Francisco 49ers suffered another devastating Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, falling 25-22 in an intense overtime battle. What went worse for head coach Kyle Shanahan was the criticism he faced for not covering the new overtime rules with his players ahead of the big game. Moreover, a majority of fans took social media by storm, doubting Kyle’s choice to start with the ball in overtime.

The Niners side failed to tally a touchdown in OT and had to stay content with a mere three-pointer, easily paving the way for the Chiefs to execute a game-clinching drive. Or at least that’s what the fans and pundits are saying. However, NFL analyst Colin Cowherd felt otherwise. For him, the “good” quarterback Brock Purdy couldn’t show he was “special.”

Colin Cowherd didn’t hold anything against the 49ers’ head coach for taking the ball in overtime. He detailed how it was a good decision with the offensive prowess, running back, and playmakers at San Francisco’s disposal. The sportscaster felt that their strategy was still a success since they managed to get into the red zone after a 13-play drive; however, they had to settle for only a field goal because Brock couldn’t handle the Chiefs’ blitz.

“What happens in the media too often is, it becomes about the result and that’s why this anger. The headline today is how Kyle Shanahan lost the Super Bowl after winning the overtime flip,” Cowherd said. “For the record, San Francisco. It worked. They had a 13-play drive. Brock Purdy got them down to the red zone first and 10 of the 15. It worked, but they had to settle for a field goal because Purdy once again couldn’t handle the Blitz.”

Head coach Shanahan acknowledged the limited experience with the new overtime rules after the game. He said that the goal was to secure the ball third and potentially win it if both teams scored. Well! It just didn’t turn out that way, even after playing at a top level throughout the season.

Brock Purdy Shoulders the Blame For San Francisco’s Super Bowl Loss

Niners QB Brock Purdy took responsibility for the Super Bowl loss like any other accountable quarterback would have done. Purdy acknowledged that he had enough explosive weapons in the arsenal, and yet fell short in orchestrating a situation for the team to score a touchdown. He said,

“We shot ourselves in the foot with penalties and just the operations and stuff. So I gotta be better in terms of in terms of leading the guys and how I handle things in the huddle and tell them what to expect, stuff like that,” followed by, “But at the end of the day, we have the team, the offense to score touchdowns and I think I failed to put of team in a position to do that,”

However, there were other factors at play that affected the game. Star Christian McCaffrey fumbled the ball on the first drive. The 49ers opted for a field goal twice in the game, especially one at the end, which gave Patrick Mahomes and co. a green light to tie the game. If the 49ers had gotten the first down before the late field goal, they could have easily controlled the clock, potentially changing the outcome of Super Bowl LVIII.

Brock Purdy finished with 23 completions on 38 attempts for 255 yards and a touchdown. He was impressive in the first half and helped the Niners take a 10-3 lead with 10 completions on 15 attempts for 123 yards. The Chiefs took care of Purdy’s strategies in the third quarter where he could only gather 4-of-10 for 25 yards.

He tried his best in the fourth quarter and even in overtime tallying 9 completions on 13 attempts for 107 yards. However, as Colin Cowherd said, it is all about the result in the end. Surely, this is just the beginning for Mr. Irrelevant, and it’s also crystal clear by now that he is capable of leading the San Francisco franchise toward Super Bowl glory — not this year, but perhaps in the next.