How Purdy’s problems “hurt” the 49ers in their loss to the Cardinals.

How Purdy’s struggles ‘shamed’ the 49ers in loss to Cardinals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SANTA CLARA – In the 49ers’ 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, Brock Purdy once again showed off his ability to evade defenders, but coach Kyle Shanahan explained that can affect the offense’s timing on some plays.

The 49ers coach spoke to local media in a conference call on Monday and shared that while extending plays can be very beneficial for the team, there is a fine line where the timing of the play becomes out of whack and the result may be disadvantageous.

“Yes, always,” Shanahan said. “That’s why when things like this happen, good or bad, you try to cover it up. Last week I thought it really helped and he made a number of plays with it, but I think I also said last week that there were a couple where it hurt us.”

In the 49ers’ Week 4 win over the New England Patriots, Purdy completed two of his four attempts for 27 yards while climbing out of the tackle box, according to ProFootballFocus. Purdy also managed 12 yards twice, both on first downs.

On Sunday, Purdy’s problems occurred twice, which ended with a decisive loss of distance.

“There’s always something good and bad about both things,” Shanahan said. “You hope the good outweighs the bad, and it has. But a couple of them were particularly difficult to overcome, the sack in the second and 14th rounds.”

On Sunday, Purdy completed two of his four attempts for 12 yards after climbing out of the tackle box, but was also sacked twice. The first sack came on the 49ers’ second drive when the offense found itself in a third-and-goal situation at the Cardinals’ 6-yard line.

The play error pushed the team back to the 10-yard line, where Jake Moody kicked a successful field goal.

Purdy rushed four times for 33 yards during the game; Three of those led to first downs to keep drives alive. However, the quarterback sack that Shanahan referred to was a mistake that could have changed the outcome of the game.

Purdy’s second sack came during a scramble during the offense’s second drive of the third quarter, again in the red zone. It was a second-and-14 situation and Purdy was thrown to the ground for a loss of nine yards.

The sack pushed the offense back to the 27-yard line and out of field goal range of punter Mitch Wishnowsky, who had taken over kicking duties for Moody, who left the game before halftime with an ankle injury.

There were several mistakes throughout the game, but missing the opportunity to attempt a field goal in the third quarter was a mistake the 49ers couldn’t overcome.

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