SANTA CLARA — It’s time to stop referring to the 49ers’ 2024 season as a Super Bowl hangover.
Hangovers end.
With the 49ers potentially going into Lambeau Field in Green Bay Sunday with a 5-5 record without Brock Purdy, Nick Bosa and Trent Williams, it’s clear a few aspirin and a quart of your favorite sports drink aren’t sufficient to fix what ails the defending 2023 NFC champions.
The 49ers need Purdy more than ever, and there’s no guarantee he’ll be healthy enough to play with an injured right shoulder. Purdy made a couple of light tosses to an assistant coach Thursday before adjourning to the fieldhouse and weight room and turning practice over to Brandon Allen, Josh Dobbs and Tanner Mordecai.
Meanwhile, in Green Bay, quarterback Jordan Love is feeling spry enough to take evasive action after battling through knee and groin injuries through 10 games. Those injuries, as well as throwing interceptions in eight straight games, have kept Love from ascending to the NFL’s elite and justifying the mega-deal which will pay him an average of $55 million per year.
Still, the Packers have won close games while the 49ers have lost them and appear playoff-bound. Love’s is the kind of deal Purdy is expected to get this offseason, although financial considerations have taken a back seat to a season that could go irreversibly south should the 49ers lose and fall to 5-6.
Bosa (both obliques) and Williams (ankle), pillars of the 49ers’ defensive and offensive lines, are far from locks to play Sunday, with Williams probably rating the better chance.
Purdy’s situation came more into focus when the 49ers scuttled his usual Thursday afternoon press conference with the local media. Purdy could take the podium Friday and maybe he’ll be fine. As a rookie, Purdy played on a Thursday night in Seattle with a fractured rib with no practice and the 49ers won. It went a long way toward proving to Shanahan that Purdy, and not Trey Lance, was the 49ers’ franchise quarterback.
Make no mistake, as good as Bosa and Williams are, the 49ers need Purdy to direct an offense in which Christian McCaffrey is rounding into form, Deebo Samuel has been willing but unable to be a game-breaker and Jauan Jennings has emerged as the only truly reliable every down receiver.
If there were any doubts about Purdy’s value to the franchise now and into the future, they were dispelled Wednesday when Shanahan evaluated the performance of his third-year quarterback.
Remember all the talk about how Purdy was a product of his supporting cast? People seem to have come around to the idea that all quarterbacks are either helped or hurt by their system of offense and teammates. Purdy’s numbers are still good but down a bit from last year, completing 66 percent of his passes (202 of 306) for 2,613 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Shanahan looks at it as a point guard stripped of his shooters.
“I think Brock’s playing at the exact same level,” Shanahan said. “I think there’s different circumstances around him. Our team hasn’t been quite as good through this, but it’s been close to getting there and close doesn’t matter. That’s why we’re 5-5.”
If Purdy’s passing numbers are down, his rushing numbers are up. His ability to scramble has produced 267 yards rushing and moved the chains for 26 first downs, although if he gets on the field Sunday he may be less likely to go off-schedule with a bum shoulder.
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love is pressured by Nick Bosa (97) in last season’s 24-21 win by the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group
For the Packers, Love showed in a 20-19 win over the Chicago Bears he could do some damage on the move, a part of his game that was absent much of the season.
“I think we’re a really good offense regardless, but to be able to move around and make plays outside of the pocket and off-schedule is a big part of our offense,” Love told reporters.
Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said, “There is no defense for a scramble drill” and 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen conceded it’s a problem with Love.
“He’s a guy that’s always been able to move around,” Sorensen said. “He’ll duck his head and try and get a first down with his legs. But the way he can move around and still chuck it down the field to receivers that can go get it, it’s impressive.”
Related Articles
Status of 49ers’ Brock Purdy grows grim ahead of Packers trip
Inman: 49ers’ Shanahan ‘not in a bad place’ amid 5-5 reclamation project
Expert witness: Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker deleted Signal — the app he allegedly used to leak the 49ers report — off his phone following the leak
Brock Purdy limited in practice as 49ers assess health going into Green Bay game
After Nick Bosa celebration, ‘Trump dance’ takes sports world by storm
While 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir smacked his lips at Love’s interception streak which has lasted all season, he gave the Green Bay quarterback and his receivers their due. Green Bay’s trio of Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson are adept at getting downfield when Love is off-schedule.
“This year they’ve got more confidence, more experience,” Lenoir said.
The Packers carry with them a 24-21 playoff loss to the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium last season, a game they led 21-14 going into the fourth quarter. Love had two interceptions, both by Dre Greenlaw. The second one provided the big finish for the 49ers, an area where they have come up short in 2024.
“Ending the season, getting to the playoffs and getting knocked out by the 49ers, that game’s definitely going to sit with you,” Love said. “You go back, watch the game, see what you could have done better, differently. Just knowing that’s the team that knocked us out, we’re definitely hungry for this game.”