We can’t ignore the elephant in the room. After an opening drive touchdown, the San Francisco 49ers’ offense had three drives in a row where they threw an interception. It got to the point where the Jimmy
Garoppolo flashbacks were real, meaning that once the ball left the screen, you were terrified of the outcome.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said, “Just had three throws you’d love to take back. They were all good decisions. Just a hair late on them. When you’re a hair late on stuff, you can’t throw it behind them. And he threw it behind him, and all three guys made him pay.”
Whether you were a fan or an outside observer, you were wondering whether there would be a quarterback change. Shanahan said putting Mac Jones in never crossed his mind.
Kyle also believes the turnovers weren’t injury-related or due to all of the time Brock missed: “There’s no narrative to a late throw. You’re just a little late, and when you do, and people are late a lot, you just can’t throw behind him when you are. You have to put it in front of them. You’re a little behind on all three, and all three of those corners made him pay.”
Let’s relive each interception to see whether it was a poor decision, throw, or good play by the defense, or all of the above.
Brock Purdy’s first interception
Brock Purdy’s first interception came on a common football concept called “Yankee.” The offense max protects, leaving everybody in to block, except the wide receivers. Skyy Moore, the receiver at the bottom of the screen, runs the clear-out route to occupy the middle of the field defender, which is No. 7. Mission accomplished.
Jauan Jennings, the receiver at the top of the screen, runs an in-breaking route where he breaks around 15 yards while still getting depth, and bends his route inside around 18-ish yards.
Before we get to the throw, let’s talk about the matchup between Jennings and the cornerback he’s going against, Jaycee Horn. Coming into this game, Horn had allowed a completion percentage of 45.2 percent. That’s the kind of production you expect when you give a player $100 million in the offseason.
One of the biggest limitations of Jennings is his lack of a second gear. Speed just so happens to be one of Horn’s many gifts. He ran a 4.37 at his Pro Day. Per Next Gen Stats, Jennings has a -8.7 receiving EPA this season, which is the fifth-worst in the NFL. He’s only catching 36.8 percent of his targets, which is the sixth-worst.
Before the ball was ever thrown, the Niners were already behind the 8-ball with this matchup. To Jennings’s credit, it’s a quality route. He has a step-and-a-half on Horn out of his break. But the throw isn’t just behind Jennings, it’s late:
Purdy takes an extra hitch, and that’s why he ends up being a “hair” late, as Shanahan said.
If Brock throws the ball now, at the top of his drop without the extra hitch, then he can get away with throwing it to the hash, where Jennings likely beats Horn to the spot.
Notice how Jennings is at the top of the numbers, compared to when the ball was released, which was two to two and a half strides later:
The blue is where the ball is.
It’s not a hot take to say Purdy has a B- arm. He’s an anticipatory thrower. When that’s the case, you can’t afford to be late, which is what happened here.
Here’s a look from the end zone angle, where you can see Brock taking an extra hitch and patting the ball, which was ultimately the difference in Horn making a play on the pass:
As for the matchup, you wonder where Ricky Pearsall is. I know there’s another receiver who hasn’t suited up who made a living against the NFL’s elite cornerbacks on this route. It’s not Jennings’ strength, but the quarterback does him no favors on this play, either.
Brock Purdy’s second interception
Purdy’s second interception came on a 3rd & 6, where there were no wrong answers, making the result surprising. Pearsall was the targeted receiver. George Kittle was open. Purdy could have also scrambled for a first down.
If this was your first time watching the 49ers’ starting quarterback, he is a big-play hunter. In a recent press conference, Shanahan said he wants his quarterbacks to make quick decisions and be aggressive in doing so. That is music to Purdy’s ears.
As you can see from the screenshot, Pearsall looks the least open, but if Purdy had thrown the ball literally anywhere in front of Pearsall, he would have run under the pass and made the catch. Instead, it was behind. The decision, again, was the correct one. The throw highlighted the quarterback’s B- arm once more.
That’s a pass that needs to be closer to the numbers on the opposite side of the field than the hash that Pearsall is on. Quarterbacks with elite arms can make throws without resetting their feet, but Purdy does not qualify. He can make plays out of structure, but this sandlot style was all too familiar in college, which was part of the reason why he fell to the seventh round.
There’s nothing wrong with the aggressive mentality. That should be encouraged. But you cannot sacrifice accuracy and timing as a quarterback. That’s a no-no.
Brock Purdy’s third interception
If the first two interceptions were inexcusable, you can be a bit more forgiving of Purdy’s third interception. Horn made an All-Pro level play. Look where he came from:
All of the defenders underneath to the play side of the formation are accounted for. The last thing on Purdy’s mind is thinking about the cornerback on the opposite side of the field. It’s one of the better plays you’ll see from any player intercepting a pass this season.
It’s also another example of being a “hair” late. Purdy takes an extra hitch, which is the difference in Horn getting to the pass. Below is when the ball should come out:
Pearsall is getting ready to come out of his break, and Purdy is taking his gather step. But an extra gather step costs the offense. Instead of the ball coming out when Purdy is on the 26-yard line, it’s released at the 28-yard line.
And those two yards were all Horn needed to make the play.
Turnover-worthy throws are nothing new with Brock Purdy
Most are only concerned or care about interceptions if they’re caught. Unfortunately, Purdy has struggled with turnover-worthy throws and decisions consistently this season.
Last week, in what felt like a blowout win, the Arizona Cardinals could have easily had two interceptions. The Jacksonville Jaguars could have had one in Week 4, and the Seattle Seahawks had two in Week 1.
This is who Purdy is, at least who he’s shown us he is in 2025. This season, only three quarterbacks have a higher percentage of turnover-worthy throws than Purdy: Jake Browning, J.J. McCarthy, and Spencer Rattler. That is not the company you want to keep.
