In a recent column for NFL.com, columnist Adam Schein stood firmly behind San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, dismissing the narrative that the Cleveland Browns had exposed the second-year player as a fraud on Sunday.
The 49ers entered the Week 6 matchup riding a 15-game winning streak, and Purdy had yet to lose a regular-season game as a starter. That all came to an end this past weekend when rookie kicker Jake Moody's potential game-winning field goal sailed wide right, and San Francisco's record dropped to 5-1.
It was a stunning upset, given Purdy and the 49ers were 9.5-point favorites to beat the P.J. Walker-led Browns.
"No, Purdy didn't play well, completing just 44.4 percent of his passes for 125 yards and one TD against one pick," Schein wrote. "But we can't forget that San Francisco lost Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel to injury. Not to mention, the weather conditions certainly weren't at their finest in Cleveland, with Purdy clearly struggling to grip a wet ball at times."
That's not to take anything away from the Browns' top-ranked defense, which successfully stymied the 49ers offense for most of the game.
"The Browns' defense, meanwhile, was absolutely sensational -- what a brilliant coaching job by coordinator Jim Schwartz," Schein wrote. "Those who actually watched the game know Cleveland deserves credit for holding San Francisco to 17 points and 215 yards, or roughly half the Niners' average output (33.4 points and 402.6 yards per game) entering Week 6."
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Speaking to reporters after the game, the 49ers' young quarterback took responsibility for his poor performance.
"It's the NFL," Purdy said. "You get opportunities, you got to take advantage of them. And so there was definitely some throws and opportunities, I feel like that were there for me and I missed on them, and that made us be behind the sticks. And then you have to get a third down, which is tough on the road here. And that's something that I got to learn from, man.
"So definitely going to be real about it, and we all got to look ourselves in the mirror and see the flaws and stuff and get better from it. But it starts with me."
Despite struggling for most of the game, Purdy managed to lead a final drive that positioned the 49ers for a potential game-winning field goal with just seconds remaining on the clock. In the end, the quarterback did everything he could to put his team in a position to keep their winning streak alive.
"You can call Purdy's performance poor," Schein continued. "You can praise Cleveland's defense. Whatever you do, though, jump off the Purdy bandwagon at your own risk. Even after Sunday's stinker, he owns the NFL's best TD-to-INT ratio (10:1) and second-best passer rating (111.9). The quarterback remains a stud, and the Niners remain the best team in the NFL."
