San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had an impressive run, going 10-0 in regular-season starts before Sunday's loss to the Cleveland Browns. The second-year player had the worst game of his career, completing only 44.4 percent of his passes for 125 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. His passer rating of 55.3 was his lowest as a starter.
Despite engineering a late-game drive that positioned the 49ers for a potential game-winning field goal (unfortunately missed by rookie Jake Moody), Purdy's struggles against the Browns have prompted some to question his standing in the quarterback ranks.
One Hall of Fame quarterback believes Purdy's struggles have more to do with the top-ranked Browns defense than any deficiency on Purdy's part.
"I watched the game on Sunday, and I think the biggest thing that happens along the way and when you're playing against good defenses is they challenge everything," Kurt Warner said on KNBR's "Papa and Lund" show. "And that's really what Cleveland did on Sunday, is they challenged every throw.
"And so it wasn't as if Brock was terrible. It wasn't as if the receivers weren't getting open. You're playing against a good team, so things are going to be tighter. And then, when a ball is a little bit off, that goes for an incompletion. Whereas in past weeks, when you have a little more separation, guys are a little more open, those things go for completions.
"So, I think it was really one of those, not a 49ers played terrible [thing], as much as it was Cleveland's defense played really, really well. We know they're really good. We've seen it all year long, and they challenge everything. And when you challenge everything, it makes offensive football harder, and that's exactly what we saw Sunday afternoon."
Some parallels can be drawn between the careers of Warner and Purdy. The 49ers quarterback was relatively unknown entering the NFL. He got an opportunity due to injuries ahead of him on the depth chart. Like Warner, Purdy seized the opportunity and enjoyed enough success to hold onto the starting role.
Warner offers a unique perspective on the pressures Purdy faces early in his career.
"Here's the thing: When you're playing in the NFL and when you're playing quarterback, there are always questions until you get to a certain level, a Patrick Mahomes, a Peyton Manning, a Tom Brady," Warner shared. "There's always questions until you solidify yourself in that way, where it's year in and year out for a number of years, where everybody goes, 'Okay, we know exactly what that guy is.'
"That first year, we (the Rams) won the Super Bowl, I won a Super Bowl MVP, I won the [NFL] MVP, and everybody just said, 'Well, show me you can do it again.' And so, there's all kinds of challenges that come into being a quarterback and all kinds of questions that you have to continue to answer. And so I don't think it's a negative thing, but when people have questions about you, that means you're doing something right. They just want to see you continue to do it.
"And so Brock, I think everybody can understand the narrative. He's been really good. He's won games. He's made a lot of big-time throws. He's got unbelievable talent around him. There is no question about that. He's got a good scheme and a good team on both sides of the ball to help him with that."
Warner emphasizes that even players like Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger initially relied on their supporting cast to secure victories. Early on, even they weren't the players we now recognize them as.
"And then eventually, if you want to be a great quarterback in this league, you have got to show people you can win games with your right arm, that you can separate yourself by saying, 'Hey, it doesn't matter what's around me, I can still be successful,'" Warner continued. "And that's really, to me, the only thing that Brock has to prove at some point. But the great thing is he doesn't have to prove it right now, and you can win and have success as those other guys did early in their careers.
"And then there will probably come a time where he's not surrounded by as much talent, and that's when he'll get a chance to answer those other questions that we have right now. But don't look at it as a negative when people have questions about you because that means you're doing something right, and they just want to see if you can check the next box. And most quarterbacks throughout the league have to do that."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Warner below.