Brock Purdy has been the face of national criticism after the 49ers lost their third straight game, and apparently, the second-year quarterback points the finger at himself, too.
After San Francisco dropped its latest contest against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Levi's Stadium, star wide receiver Deebo Samuel revealed what Purdy's message to the team was after.
"One thing I like about Brock, with the guys we have in our locker room, we do a great job with keeping his confidence up," Samuel said on Thursday's episode of the "Up & Adams" show. "And one thing that stood out to me about Brock after we lost to the Bengals was that he'll take full responsibility for his actions and he knows he has to play well.
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"So before we broke the huddle in the locker room, he was like, 'Yo guys, this was on me. I got to be better.' So that's one thing that we like about Brock is that he takes full responsibility of his actions. And he knows what he's capable of, and he wants to play the best of his ability every week."
Of course, fans always need something to point the blame to, whether that's defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, Nick Bosa's underwhelming impact after signing a massive contract extension, or Purdy -- the young quarterback is taking full responsibility for his recent play.
After a strong start to the 2023 season, in which Purdy looked nearly flawless while leading the 49ers to five straight wins, San Francisco has come back down to earth and now holds a 5-3 record.
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The 49ers enter a bye week before returning to action in northern Florida against the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 10.
Samuel, who has missed the past two games with a hairline fracture of his left shoulder, said he's "ready to go" and should be back with the team by then.
Hopefully for the 49ers -- and Purdy -- the "wide back" returning to the field will help them turn things around for the rest of the season.