Brock Purdy Assesses the Worst Start of his Career

SANTA CLARA -- Brock Purdy has now had three days to process the worst start of his career.

Here's what he said on Wednesday about his abysmal performance against the Ravens, courtesy of the 49ers P.R. department.

ME: Head coach Kyle Shanahan said the only interception that was a bad decision was the first one. What should you have done differently on that one?

PURDY: "Yeah, that drive we had two really explosive plays, the third down and then the next play after that to [TE] George [Kittle] again. So it's like the emotion, everything's built up, we're feeling good and then we call this play with what wasn't the right coverage. So for myself, it's like, ‘all right, dude, progress and check it down.’ In the moment for myself, I was aggressive. I was like, ‘all right, just had two big plays, I'm trying to fit this one in.’ Which obviously looking back on it was not the right decision, wasn't the smart play as a quarterback. That's something that I have to grow in, in terms of you make some big plays and stuff, but every play has a life of its own. Now whatever play is next, you’ve got to play the play the right way and not just feed off the emotion and everything that you felt from the previous plays. So, that's something that I had to learn the hard way."

Q: How do you find the balance of still playing aggressively, ripping it down the field, but then also making good decisions?

PURDY: "The games that I've played in there's a fine line of obviously ripping something that's a tight window or tight contested, but at the same time being smart with the ball in the situation of wherever the game is at. So for myself, I've played in enough games where I think I understand when and where I can be aggressive, and take a chance, take a shot, and when I should progress, check it down, throw it away, those kinds of things. Like I said, it's a situational kind of thing, and football is a game of situations. So that's where I have to grow and continue to bank on experiences that I've gone through. But at the same time, being a quarterback in the NFL, you’ve got to be able to take some chances and some risks and some windows at the right time. That's what I'm learning right now."

ME: Things have gone your way early in your career. Was this Ravens game a learning experience in the sense of what it feels like when everything that could go wrong does go wrong and how to respond?

PURDY: "Yeah, it's huge for me. The whole season building up to what they're saying is a huge game on Christmas, Monday Night Football and all that. It was a big game. So for me, it's a great learning experience just in terms of not buying into what's going on around and what's being said. Instead, executing in the moment, making the right reads, being consistent, protecting the ball, all those things. It's such a good learning experience. It's not to say I'm going to be perfect moving forward, it's football, you're not perfect. But for me, I think it was huge just in terms of being a quarterback in this league. When things are going well, people can say some great things and it's easy to buy into it a little bit. But you’ve got to put your head down, go to work, have that chip on your shoulder still and still prove to yourself that you’ve got to continue to show your teammates that you're the guy week in and week out. So definitely something for me to learn from."

Q: Kyle said yesterday that he felt like the most valuable experience for you the other night was continuing to compete after the interceptions. Can you take us into those moments of what you were thinking of how you flush and how you kind of move on to continue to compete in those moments and maybe how can it help you going forward?

PURDY: "The game and the situation, it sort of just happened really quick. They went up quick and in the second half, third quarter, they're up multiple scores. So then it sort of feels like, ‘all right, we have to make a play. At the same time we’ve got all these turnovers, so don't turn the ball over.’ So just mentally it was a good experience to understand like, you have to play one play at a time. Even if we're down multiple scores, you still have a whole second half to play. You have to still think clearly in terms of what we're trying to do with each play, not just try to get back into the game with one or two plays with explosives. It's being smart. It's taking a five-yard out route or check down and getting a first down and managing those situations and playing quarterback still to get your team back in the lead by being an efficient quarterback. So, those are all things I had to learn. Towards the end, I feel like I was searching for those big plays to get back in the game rather than playing the position. Watching the film was tough, but it was good for me. I had to learn it and I'm glad it happened now."

Q: That was your first four interception game in your life. Is it fair to say that you weren't completely scared of throwing yet another pick and you were still searching for big plays? It seems like there was a push-pull there.

PURDY: "Yeah, it's just not being in the right state of mind as a quarterback. Having the aggressive trigger to make the throw, the big play, but also shoot, dude, you don't want to turn the ball over again. It's just a sucky state of mind to be in. That's the learning experience of going back and just taking it and saying every play has a life of its own. You have to take it one play at a time and not try to win the game by a couple big plays. When I'm thinking like that, I just wasn't in the right state of mind towards the end when we're trying to get back into it. That's the learning experience."