San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy enters the team's Week 17 matchup against the Washington Commanders a little older and a little wiser. The 49ers sophomore quarterback turned 24 on Wednesday, the official start of San Francisco's game week, and noted that he learned some valuable lessons from his uncharacteristic performance in the team's 33-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas night.
"The game and the situation just happened really quickly," Purdy said. "They went up quick in the second half, in the third quarter they were up multiple scores. Then it sort of feels like, 'Alright, we have to make a play.' At the same time, we have all these turnovers, so don't turn the ball over.
"Just mentally, it was a good experience to understand you have to play one play at a time even if we are down multiple scores. You still have a whole second half to play, you still have to think clearly in terms of what we are trying to do with each play (instead of) trying to get back into the game with one or two plays, with explosives... Towards the end of the game I felt like I was searching for those big plays to get back into the game rather than playing the position."
As Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers turn their full focus to the Commanders, there's two key playmakers on Washington's defensive front that the quarterback and offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Foerster took the time to highlight.
"I think it starts with the two boys upfront, No. 93 and No. 94 (Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne)," Purdy said. "They're very disruptive, they've been really disruptive really their whole careers. We respect them a lot and just their coverages behind them. The boys in the secondary, they're sound in what they do."
"The interior two players are still the strength of the defense," Foerster said. "Their linebackers are fast and physical. Their secondary is young but aggressive. This is a solid defensive football team."
Allen and Payne, the Commanders interior D-linemen, have combined for 9.5 sacks, 58 tackles and 30 total quarterback hits this season. Washington lost its two best defensive ends mid-season, trading Chase Young and Montez Sweat at the trade deadline.
For Young, a Maryland native, Sunday's game will be a homecoming and his first meeting with his former team.
"It's going to be fun," Young said when asked about playing against familiar faces on Sunday. "They're a team that is going to fight to the end, I do know that. We just have to come out well."
