With training camp officially underway for the 49ers, quarterback Brock Purdy still is haunted by two missed plays in Super Bowl LVIII.
Speaking to the assembled media after Day 1 of camp, the young signal-caller was asked if any plays from the Super Bowl still gnawed at him, with two standing out.
“I think that third down that got tipped,” Purdy said. “We ran double slants. That's one of them that comes up, towards the end of the game. There's that one. I think earlier on there was like a second-down play that I could have hit [WR Brandon] Aiyuk on a window pretty quick, and it just happened and it closed quickly.
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“So those are the kinds of plays that run through my mind when I think about the Super Bowl and like how can I take my game to the next level is those kind of plays. Capitalizing on those plays.”
There are two plays from the Super Bowl that still bother Purdy to this day 😬 pic.twitter.com/iemLLyNXMQ
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Purdy then explained what he would have done differently on that pass play to Aiyuk.
“Aiyuk in the slot,” Purdy told reporters. “I think if I was quick enough with my feet and got the ball out, because that play we're thinking read it inside out and I'm thinking [WR Jauan Jennings] J.J. third down, like J.J.’s had a great game and then Aiyuk actually popped with a guy blitzing free.
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“So it's in those moments right before it happens, how can I see it clearly still stick to my fundamentals of reading that play inside out, not just getting to the outside read. So it's those plays and those moments that's situational football. That's where I can grow. And so that's what I mean by like, there's certain plays like that where I'm like, ‘dang.’ ”
While Purdy played a relatively clean game in Super Bowl LVIII, there were a few missed opportunities for San Francisco’s offense to score touchdowns and put the game out of reach. After the 49ers settled for a field goal on the first possession of overtime, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes charged down the field with relative ease, throwing the game-winning touchdown pass.
With the bulk of its superstar playmakers returning for another season, the 49ers are firmly in win-now mode, trying to make the most of Purdy’s final year on his cheap rookie contract and finally get that long-desired Vince Lombardi Trophy after so many setbacks.
And Purdy is learning from his mistakes as that quest continues.
“Yeah, that's a sport and that's the world that we live in just in terms of playing a professional sport. We're not going to be perfect," Purdy said. "You're not going to make every single play. You get to the highest stage playing in the Super Bowl and there's a crucial play like that. You're hard on yourself. We're professional, like we want to compete and be the best and we want to be perfect, but that's just the nature of it. Man, you're going to come up short sometimes.
"But I think the best separate themselves by going and experiencing those things and then being able to learn from them and make change not do those same mistakes over, but actually make change and be ready for the moment that comes again.”
While San Francisco has made the NFC Championship Game four times in the past five seasons and appeared in two Super Bowls, the 49ers have come up short each time.
For now, the 49ers will continue to work on integrating new free agents and rookies as training camp continues, with the first slate of preseason games looming on the horizon.
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