The San Francisco 49ers were without some heavy artillery for today’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Quarterback Brock Purdy, defensive end Nick Bosa, and left tackle Trent Williams all missed the contest due to injury.
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Despite being under-manned, San Francisco still had many superstar players active to face the Packers. So their 38-10 defeat is not something head coach Kyle Shanahan took lightly. In his postgame press conference, he refrained from blaming one singular person but claimed no one on the roster played well:
“We all got embarrassed. No one played that great.”
Backup quarterback Brandon Allen – starting in Purdy’s place – finished the day 17/29 (58.6%) for 199 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also fumbled twice (lost one). Shanahan didn’t pretend Allen was terrific in his assessment of the 2016 sixth-round pick’s performance but also believes his box score is a bit misleading.
“From what I saw… I thought he did some good things… two plays, he just slipped… that hurt us. But I thought Brandon made some big throws and gave us a chance.”
One of those “big throws” was his scoring pass to tight end George Kittle. The strike cut the Packers’ lead to 17-7 heading into halftime.
George Kittle ladies and gents.
#SFvsGB on FOX
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4nCVJ pic.twitter.com/YVJGOBSIy9— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 24, 2024
The 49ers fell to 5-6 with the loss. They’ll reside in the NFC West’s basement after Week 12 regardless of the Los Angeles Rams’ Sunday Night Football result. However, they’ll also only be one game out of first place in the division whether the Rams win, lose or tie.
If San Francisco’s showing against the Packers revealed anything, it’s that they need Purdy to be healthy to have a chance to make good on their preseason aspirations.
Allen is an adequate backup but isn’t capable of leading them to victory over upper-echelon teams. Shanahan isn’t yet sure if Purdy will be ready to return in week 13.
“He has been rehabbing the whole time here… I’m sure we’ll take him through some stuff early Monday or Tuesday and get a better idea then.”
The 49ers are set to battle the Buffalo Bills (9-2) on Sunday Night Football next week. They would benefit greatly if Bosa or Williams could suit up for the primetime showdown. But if Purdy is unable to go, they’re likely to drop to 5-7. And that hole may be too large to escape over the final five weeks.
