There was not one play that 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy could identify as the reason the 49ers lost Super Bowl LVIII.
He watched and re-watched the game a couple of times and found multiple missed opportunities that added up to San Francisco's inability to claim the organization’s sixth Lombardi Trophy.
“It still just stinks, because there were plays out there that could have been made,” Purdy told Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group on Sunday at his youth football camp at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
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“I feel there were a couple plays, where I’m like, ‘Dude, that could have been the difference.’ But that’s across the board. It’s four quarters of every play matters.”
Purdy completed 23 of 38 pass attempts for 255 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in the 49ers’ 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
He led the 49ers on two go-ahead drives in the fourth quarter and one more in overtime to place himself into the conversation for Super Bowl MVP.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs responded to every challenge after the 49ers left the door open for them.
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“But watching it gives me some hope, because we have a lot of guys coming back,” Purdy said of the Super Bowl loss. “It’s like, all right, we were there, in the moment, so we can learn from it and run with that next year.”
Every Super Bowl starter from the 49ers’ offense remains on the team’s roster with the 2024 NFL Draft less than two weeks away.
Unlike a year ago at this time, Purdy is completely healthy and ready to build on a season in which he finished fourth in the NFL MVP voting. Last year, he was beginning his physical therapy after undergoing elbow surgery in March.
Purdy was cleared for the opening of training camp. He went on to set the 49ers' single-season franchise record with 4,280 passing yards, while leading the NFL in passer rating (113.0) and yards per pass attempt (9.6).
The 49ers open their offseason program Monday, as the build-up to next season officially begins.
“I’m excited,” Purdy said. “Obviously it’s still stinging about how we ended the year. We were right there. There’s going to be a lot of guys that are hungry and have that chip on their shoulder, again.
“For us, we’re always going to think we can get it to another level. I know guys like Christian (McCaffrey), George (Kittle), and Deebo (Samuel) are all thinking like that. The fact we’ve all played together for a year and a half, that gives us a lot of confidence.”
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