Former NFL star Cam Newton was among those who criticized Brock Purdy's playoff performance as the San Francisco 49ers moved toward 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 only got fired 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 February 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 attributed it to the coach's decisions as San Francisco decided to get the ball first in overtime.
“Field goal versus touchdown, that's not Brock Purdy,” the former Carolina Panthers quarterback said. “Why the hell did they get the ball first? It was Tony Romo who mentioned this: When you know what you have to get, now you have four tries to get it, not three.
“The 49ers were just trying to score points. And that's not Brock Purdy's fault, that's bad coaching. There were too many people exposed. They didn't know the real rules of overtime.”
Newton added that Purdy “played well enough for his team to win.”
San Francisco 49ers Brock Purdy, #13, runs the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs Justin Reid, #20, at Allegiant Stadium. (Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
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The former NFL MVP said it was serious that 49ers players didn't know the overtime rules. Several players admitted it 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 guess 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 that, no.”
Niners defensive end Arik Armstead didn't know the rules either.
“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 the media during the San Francisco 49ers media availability prior to Super Bowl LVIII at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa on February 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 tied and scored, we wanted to be the ones who had a chance to win it,” he said. “We made that field goal, so we were hoping to limit them to at least one field goal. If we made that field goal, we felt like it was in our hands afterward.”
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