Coming off the worst statistical regular-season start of his NFL career, Brock Purdy will look to rebound to his usual form after being stifled by a historically good Cleveland Browns defense.
On this week's episode of NBC Sports Bay Area's "49ers Game Plan," Kyle Shanahan explained to Greg Papa that although Purdy's performance in Cleveland was far from perfect, he felt it was more of an issue with the entire team underperforming rather than an indictment on his quarterback alone.
"It wasn't his best game," Shanahan told Papa. "First loss, his first pick of the year. There was a couple of throws that he missed, especially on that interception. But it was kind of like the rest of our whole team. He wasn't in the best situations, had to make some huge plays just to get us out of some stuff. We didn't really get all groups to do that and got caught with the ball a couple of times with some of the pressure, guys dropping under stuff."
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Shanahan then detailed that despite the mounting adversity Purdy faced, he was pleased with the way Purdy rebounded by putting the 49ers in a position to kick a potential game-winning field goal on their final possession of the game.
"It was kind of a perfect storm for him, especially with the ball that slipped on the screen, a couple rain things," Shanahan told Papa. "But what I was happy with was he stuck with it, at the end he didn't melt or anything. He got us into a position to win, and I thought he ended up playing, towards the end, good enough for us to win."
After injuries to a handful of star players left them depleted, the 49ers had their depth tested for the first time this season.
Shanahan explained how that kind of hardship can be revealing before sharing that the team is unified in their efforts to rectify their tough loss with a strong performance against the Vikings in Minnesota on Monday night.
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"When everyone around him wasn't that great, I thought it was a good game for us to kind of see, especially the coaching staff, the players," Shanahan explained. "It's been a while since we've lost and you kind of forget how that felt. To come in and have to go through it on a Monday and on a Tuesday, even throughout this week of practice. It's been good to deal with the guys and just see how different it is when you do come off a loss.
"You're pissed off, it's what happens when you lose. Last time we lost we got two months off, so we didn't see each other the whole next week. So it's been kind of neat to deal with him, to deal with the group, everyone is locked in and ready to get this bad taste out of our mouth, and get back to another game."
Purdy finished the game with a 44-percent completion percentage while throwing for just 125 yards, both of which were regular-season lows for the second-year pro.
The 49ers offense recorded 215 yards of total offense against the Browns, the lowest mark they have posted in any regular-season game under Shanahan since he became the head coach in 2017.
The focus now turns towards returning to the win column, with a chance to send a powerful message during their primetime tilt with the Vikings on "Monday Night Football."