The San Francisco 49ers offense attempted three fourth-down conversions in their 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, converting only one. It was just one of several miscues that contributed to the Super Bowl hopefuls falling to 1-1.
San Francisco went for it twice on fourth down early in the second quarter. Quarterback Brock Purdy successfully converted the first attempt with a pass to wide receiver Jauan Jennings but failed to connect with Jennings on the ensuing fourth-and-goal.
After the Vikings took over, quarterback Sam Darnold hit Justin Jefferson on a deep pass, with the star receiver beating 49ers safeties Ji'Ayir Brown and George Odum for a 97-yard touchdown, extending the home team's lead to 10-0.
"I gotta be better. I kind of left my safety hanging there," Brown said after the game. "... Sam did a hell of a job throwing it, too. Sam just let that thing go. I think he didn't care who was over there. He just let that thing go, and it fell right into his hands, got a touchdown."
The 49ers took another shot at converting on fourth down during their next drive, but Purdy came up just short of the first-down marker on a scramble.
After the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the media and was asked about the uncharacteristic decisions to go for it on fourth down multiple times. Shanahan emphasized that the Vikings' strategy didn't play a role in his decisions.
"I just didn't mind the decision in those situations, where we were at on the field, when you're right just outside of field goal range, the down and distance," Shanahan explained. "And then, I don't mind going for it inside the two, knowing that we'll pin them back. They made a hell of a play to get out of there."
While he stood by his aggressive approach, Shanahan added, "But didn't like the results, obviously."
When asked about the first failed conversion, Purdy expressed support for his coach's decision-making.
"I love the aggressiveness by Kyle, going for it, 4th-and-two, 4th-and-one," Purdy said. "And they had zero blitz, and one guy just came free, which in our pass protection, that's just how it is. And they got a hand on it, a tip ball at the end. It was a good defensive play on them, and I was just trying to give [Jennings] a shot. That was where the ball was supposed to go, and against man, and I thought I had it, and the ball got tipped."