SANTA CLARA — After the 49ers' 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, quarterback Brock Purdy spoke to the team and shouldered the blame for the loss while taking responsibility for his mistakes.
Many of Purdy’s teammates spoke in the locker room after the game, expressing support for their young leader. Nick Bosa, for one, is not worried about Purdy bouncing back after throwing five interceptions over the past three games.
“He took ownership for his mistakes,” Bosa said. “He played awesome I thought, except for a few plays, and I think a lot of people on this team feel the same way.”
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As Bosa said, outside of his two interceptions, Purdy did have a productive game by completing 22 of his 31 attempts for 365 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions and a 94.1 rating. The quarterback also made some plays with his legs, rushing the ball six times for 57 yards.
Fred Warner shared a similar sentiment about his quarterback, understanding that while Purdy made mistakes, no one on the team played well enough to win the game.
“Brock is the least of my worries,” Warner said. “Brock is made of the right stuff. Yeah, can he protect the ball better? Sure, but he’s the reason why we have a chance to win games in every single game that we are in.”
Even Randy Gregory, who only has been with the team since Week 6 believes that Purdy’s maturity at only 23 years old is impressive. The nine-year veteran believes the Iowa State product’s behavior after a loss is why there is no panic in the locker room.
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“Brock was about as good as he could be,” Gregory said of Purdy after the game. “He owns his mistakes, like all of us. Big learning experience for him being a young guy and being a leader for us. He will come back on top, and a lot of guys have faith in him.”
At 30 years old, Gregory is impressed by the 49ers' locker room as a whole, with young players owning their leadership roles on the team. The veteran pass rusher believes the team has what they need in the locker room to turn their season around.
“You have a lot of leaders in this locker room who aren’t 30-plus years old,” Gregory said. “A lot of them are in their mid-20s. Seeing that, and seeing guys govern their own room, and their team, and not need to rely on the coaches is big.
“You don’t see that a lot. It’s nice to see and special to have in this locker room, and with that, we will get on the right track.”
The 49ers have an extra week off to get back on track before heading to Jacksonville to face off with the Jaguars in Week 10.