Brock Purdy experienced the first stinger of his football career in Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Now, the 49ers quarterback has sustained two stingers in two games.
“I played the whole game fine, not thinking about it or anything,” Purdy said Monday night after his four-interception outing in the 49ers’ 33-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. “It wasn't even a thing.”
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But in the fourth quarter, Purdy felt the sensation again when Ravens defensive end Jadeveon Clowney threw him for a 3-yard sack.
“And just the way I got tackled on that play, it sort of just lit up again just like last week,” Purdy said. “So, I had to go through the whole protocol process in the tent again and everything like that. That's just sort of just how it went down.”
A stinger generally occurs when the head is forced away from the shoulder and stretches the nerves in the neck. When that happens, a stinging or burning sensation can take place along the path of the nerve and into the arm.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday that he doesn’t believe Purdy will have any lasting effects from sustaining two stingers one week apart. The first came just eight days prior when Cardinals linebacker Dennis Gardeck made helmet-to-helmet contact with Purdy.
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“Just watching him how he was [last] week and then being able to hear how he was today and talking to him last night after the game, I think he’s going to be fine,” Shanahan said on a conference call with reporters. “I don’t think it’s going to bother him.
“I’m sure it’s a pain for him, but overall, I think he’ll be fine for us this week.”
The 49ers (11-4) will return to action Sunday in a critical Week 17 game at the Washington Commanders. The 49ers still hold the NFC’s top playoff spot, and can wrap up the No. 1 seed with victories over the Commanders and Los Angeles Rams to close the regular season.
Purdy had his worst game as a college or professional quarterback Monday night, completing 18 of 32 passes for 255 yards and no touchdowns with four interceptions. He left the game with 7:50 remaining in the fourth quarter with backup quarterback Sam Darnold replacing him and finishing the game.
Purdy said he spoke with Shanahan about his availability to return to action once he was cleared.
“We had talked about just the scenario of the game, where we were at, just got a stinger and my arm was coming back, feeling normal and whatnot,” he said. “Sam had gone in and scored, and he [Shanahan] goes, ‘For right now, we're just going to go with Sam just by how things are going.’ And we didn't want anything else popping up with the stinger and all that kind of stuff. But it was just where we were at situationally. So, Sam was doing good, and we rolled with him.”
Darnold led the 49ers on a touchdown drive to pull the 49ers within two scores. He later threw an interception with one minute remaining when the 49ers had a fourth-and-goal situation from the Ravens’ 17-yard line.
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