SANTA CLARA — Brock Purdy is learning, one play at a time, and the 49ers' Christmas night loss to the Baltimore Ravens at Levi's Stadium was an important lesson.
With the worst game of the quarterback’s two-year NFL career in the rearview mirror, Purdy now can see how his emotional state affected his play in the 33-19 loss.
“It’s just not being in the right state of mind as a quarterback,” Purdy said Thursday. “Having the aggressive trigger to make the throw, the big play, but also shoot, dude, you don’t want to turn the ball over again.
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“It’s just a sucky state of mind to be in.”
Purdy hadn’t struggled in the NFL like he did in the 49ers' loss to the Ravens, but now he has the proper perspective to see his four-interception game as a learning experience that he can use.
“Every play has a life of its own,” Purdy said. “You have to take it one play at a time and not try to win the game by a couple big plays. When I’m thinking like that, I just wasn’t in the right state of mind toward the end when we’re trying to get back into it. That’s the learning experience.”
Purdy explained that the pressure he put on himself to “make up” for the mistakes he made earlier in the game affected how he played, especially in the second half. While he doesn’t want to lose his aggressive nature of “letting it rip” downfield, he does want to make the correct decisions, not trying to force a throw that could end up as a turnover.
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The experience also put the game into perspective for Purdy, not buying into the hype of making any contest bigger than what it is. Prime time, “Monday Night Football,” with the whole world watching shouldn’t make him feel any additional pressure to push the ball downfield.
“It was a big game,” Purdy said. “So for me, it’s a great learning experience just in terms of not buying into what’s going on around and what’s being said. Instead, executing in the moment, making the right reads, being consistent, protecting the ball, all those things.”
The loss was a humbling experience for the young play-caller. While Purdy is pretty good at blocking out most of the outside noise, there admittedly have been some accolades that have grabbed his attention.
“I think it was huge just in terms of being a quarterback in this league,” Purdy said. “When things are going well, people can say some great things, and it’s easy to buy into it a little bit. But you’ve got to put your head down, go to work, have that chip on your shoulder still and still prove to yourself that you’ve got to continue to show your teammates that you’re the guy week in and week out.
“It’s not to say I’m going to be perfect moving forward. It’s football. You’re not perfect.”
Purdy and the 49ers' offense will need to stay focused on a short week before heading to the East Coast to face the Washington Commanders on Sunday at FedExField.