Brandon Allen gets support from Shanahan, Kittle after first 49ers start

Brandon Allen didn't do enough to be counted among the rare bright spots in the 49ers' dreadful 38-10 road loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, but head coach Kyle Shanahan and tight end George Kittle found enough positives in the veteran quarterback's performance to give him some encouraging words after the game.

Allen, who made his first start as a member of the 49ers while Brock Purdy sat out with a shoulder injury, finished with 199 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and two fumbles on 17-of-29 passing. Allen has been with the 49ers since signing with them before the 2023 season, but Sunday marked his first start since his time with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021. The loss moved the 32-year-old Allen to 2-8 as an NFL starter.

"We all got embarrassed, so no one played that great," Shanahan said. "But I thought he did some good things."

The 49ers' offense was non-existent in the early going while the Packers built a 17-0 first half lead, but Allen was able to guide the 49ers on a scoring drive late in the half that cut the lead to 17-7 at halftime. There was one more scoring drive for the 49ers in the third quarter that ended in a field goal, but Allen also had two costly turnovers in the second half with his interception and a lost fumble on a strip sack, both of which resulted in Packers touchdowns.

"I thought he made some big throws," Shanahan said. "Just the plays I can think of, he had a rough one in the beginning that he threw to them they dropped. Two plays he just slipped on that field that hurt us. But I thought Brandon made some big throws and stuff and gave us a chance."

Allen's lone touchdown came to Kittle, who did count among the bright spots for the 49ers on Sunday with six catches for 82 yards. More than one of those catches were highlight plays, including the touchdown, which came on a leaping catch, and a third quarter grab where he made a grab in mid-spin to help put the 49ers in a position to get their field goal.

Kittle had nothing but positive things to say about Allen after the game.

"I thought Brandon was great," Kittle said. "He was good in the huddle. Spoke loud and clear, which is really nice for us. And he made some really good passes."

Regarding his spinning catch, Kittle said, "That's something that we hardly ever practice... When he sees you with a one on one, he's just gonna give you an opportunity, which I really respect that from him. Definitely didn't see the back shoulder ball coming, by any means. Not something that he practiced at all. But he gave me a chance at it, which was fun."

Purdy may well be back on the field next week when the 49ers travel to Buffalo to play the Bills on Sunday Night Football. If he isn't, Allen may get the nod once again. Either way, the 49ers will need a much better all-around effort on both sides of the ball to have a shot in that game, but Kittle would at least remain confident if Allen was under center one more time.

"I thought he played, you know, very well," Kittle said. "And I think our run game has to be better so we can help him out a little bit. And again, we had so many penalties all over the field, which is just really hard to win football games like that."