The San Francisco 49ers took their first loss of the season against the Cleveland Browns as their high-powered offense looked less like itself with the absence of Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey.
Coming off a dominant win against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5, the 49ers ran into problems against a top-rated Cleveland defense and struggled to get much of anything going offensively throughout the game.
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Offensive Concerns Following Niners’ First Loss
The 49ers entered the matchup averaging 33.4 points per game and as one of two undefeated teams remaining in the league.
MORE: San Francisco 49ers Depth Chart
Just last week, Shannon Sharpe called out Brock Purdy, saying he is not an elite quarterback and simply a “product of the system.” It seems this could be the case, as Purdy did not play at the same level he did through the first five weeks after losing the help of Samuel and McCaffrey.
Shannon Sharpe says, "by no stretch of the imagination" is Brock Purdy elite:
"He's a product of the system." 👀
(via @FirstTake)
Are you sold on the #49ers starting QB?
See what Jerry Jones had to say about Purdy: https://t.co/RxfJpkmLgt pic.twitter.com/89wsHBuptT
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 13, 2023
Samuel left the game in the first quarter around the same time as offensive tackle Trent Williams, who had an apparent right leg injury. Samuel was ruled out of the game with a shoulder injury.
McCaffrey later suffered an oblique injury in the third quarter and was ruled out early in the fourth quarter as the Niners led 17-13.
Without two of his most powerful offensive weapons, Purdy struggled as he completed 12 of 27 pass attempts for 107 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. The interception was Purdy’s first of the season as he missed wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk by a few yards. Before the final drive of the game, Purdy completed just nine of his 20 passes for 82 yards.
MORE: NFL Bye Weeks Schedule 2023
Last week against the Cowboys and with Samuel and McCaffrey, Purdy completed 70.8% of his pass attempts for 252 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions, a drastically different performance from what we saw today.
While Purdy was able to lead a drive into field goal range in the final minutes of the game, resulting in a field goal that Jake Moody missed, the game should not have come down to that after seeing the elite level at which the team has played in previous weeks.
Purdy’s struggles seemed to prove the point of those, such as Sharpe, who believe he has been performing as well as he has due to his circumstances and playing under Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Additionally, the Browns were able to pull off the win without quarterback Deshaun Watson, adding more insult to injury for the Niners. Browns quarterback P.J. Walker came off Cleveland’s practice squad and outthrew Purdy as he completed 52.9% of his pass attempts for 192 yards, although he did throw two picks.
Should Samuel and McCaffrey miss more time, could we expect Purdy to return to his normal self? Quarterbacks have their off days, but Purdy happened to have his worst passing day of the season with a 44.4% completion rate. While this could be chalked up to the team facing the toughest defense they have seen yet, it is concerning to see Purdy falter under less-than-ideal circumstances.
On the other hand, the narrative likely would have been altered had Moody made the 41-yard field goal for the win, as Purdy led the drive that ultimately would have won the game.