Former NFL star Cam Newton was among those who were critical of Brock Purdy’s performance in the playoffs as the San Francisco 49ers marched their way to a Super Bowl appearance.
Purdy had a decent performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. He was 23-for-38 with 255 passing yards and a touchdown pass. He was only sacked once.
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Cam Newton at Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl Party held at Marquee Dayclub Las Vegas at The Cosmopolitan on Feb. 10, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)
Newton, on his “4th & 1” podcast, let Purdy off the hook in the 49ers’ 25-22 loss. He pinned it on the coaching decisions and San Francisco deciding to receive the ball first in overtime.
“Field goal versus touchdown, that’s not Brock Purdy,” the former Carolina Panthers quarterback said. “Why the f— did they receive the ball first? It was Tony Romo who mentioned this — when you know what you have to get, now you have four downs to get it, not three.
“The 49ers, they were just trying to get points. And that is not Brock Purdy’s fault, that’s bad coaching. There was too many people who was exposed. They didn’t know the real rules of overtime.”
Newton added that Purdy “played good enough for his team to win.”
San Francisco 49ers Brock Purdy, #13, runs the football against Kansas City Chiefs Justin Reid, #20, at Allegiant Stadium. (Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
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The one-time NFL MVP said it was a serious thing that the 49ers players did not know the rules of overtime. Several players admitted as much after the game.
“You know what? I didn’t even realize the playoff rules were different in overtime,” 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk said after the game, via ESPN. “I assume you just want the ball to score a touchdown and win. I guess that’s not the case. I don’t totally know the strategy there. We hadn’t talked about it, no.”
Niners defensive end Arik Armstead also did not know the rules.
“I didn’t even know about the new playoff overtime rule, so it was a surprise to me,” he said, via ESPN. “I didn’t even really know what was going on in terms of that.”
Kyle Shanahan speaks to media during the San Francisco 49ers media availability ahead of Super Bowl LVIII at Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa on Feb. 8, 2024 in Henderson, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Getty Images)
Coach Kyle Shanahan suggested he had a strategy for overtime.
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“If both teams matched and scored, we wanted to be the ones with the chance to go win it,” he said. “We got that field goal, so we were hoping to hold them to at least a field goal. If we did, we felt it was in our hands after.”
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