The San Francisco 49ers became the latest team to succumb to the Super Bowl hangover after following up a run all the way to overtime in Super Bowl LVIII with an injury-plagued 6-11 campaign and a last-place finish in the NFC West.
The offseason has only brought more pain as a slew of veterans have become cap casualties, which puts even more pressure on quarterback Brock Purdy ahead of his inevitable big contract extension, and one analyst recently shut down a major concern about Purdy from last season that should make fans feel better about the payday coming his way.
Analyst Rob Guerrera of the Gold Standard 49ers Podcast Network shared on X that he believes the narrative surrounding Purdy’s perceived down year in 2024 was false.
“The narrative that Brock Purdy was horrible last season is false. Brock was 3rd in YPA (8.5), 5th in EPA per dropback (0.17) & 4th in success rate (49.8%). All that despite being with CMC, BA, Deebo, & Kittle for just 57 total plays. h/t @SharpFootball staff”
The narrative that Brock Purdy was horrible last season is false.
Brock was 3rd in YPA (8.5), 5th in EPA per dropback (0.17) & 4th in success rate (49.8%).
All that despite being with CMC, BA, Deebo, & Kittle for just 57 total plays.
h/t @SharpFootball staff pic.twitter.com/JQFVFSTzsq
— Rob “Stats” Guerrera (@StatsOnFire) April 13, 2025
The season unraveled before it even truly got going as nearly all of San Francisco’s key skill position players suffered an injury at some point during the year, and Niners fans will be hoping that they got it all out of their system ahead of 2025.
Purdy threw just 20 touchdowns and was picked off a career-high 12 times in 2024 and was sacked a career-high 31 times while appearing in 15 games.
The stats shared by Guerrera show that even though Purdy’s numbers were slightly down, the advanced numbers still paint a solid picture and prove that he didn’t go through any sort of major regression.
It will be interesting to see how he bounces back and if he can take the next step that this team needs in order to finally get over the hump.
