Heading into yet another pivotal offseason, the San Francisco 49ers were sent home empty-handed after losing a heartbreaking overtime game to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Many questioned head coach Kyle Shanahan’s decision to receive the ball first because the game ended in overtime under the new rules, even though statistics showed that the odds of winning were almost equal whether getting the ball or kicking first.
Among those critics was former NFL quarterback Cam Newton, whose remarks regarding 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and his “game-manager” abilities have garnered media attention.
Newton, however, defended Purdy for his Super Bowl performance on his 4th & 1 podcast, blaming Shanahan and the coaching staff instead for their
Let me say this first. “Brekky Purdy had a solid game,” stated Newton. “That’s not Brock Purdy up until that point, field goal versus touchdown.” How in the world did they get the ball first? Tony Romo brought up the point that you now have four downs, not three, to get what you need to know.
Newton identified two primary reasons why the coaching staff should have taken the fall for the defeat: the 49ers’ failure to go for a touchdown and the players’ ignorance of the rules.
Newton remarked, “The 49ers were just trying to get points.” “And that’s poor coaching, not Brock Purdy’s fault. The number of people who were exposed was excessive. They were unaware.
