Should the 49ers be Worried About Brock Purdy in the Playoffs?

All season, Tua Tagovailoa was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, until he completely melted down in the playoffs. Should the 49ers worry that Brock Purdy will do something similar?

We've seen Purdy melt down before. When the 49ers lose, it's usually when he throws interceptions -- they're undefeated this season when he doesn't throw a pick. So if Purdy falls behind and has to throw lots of times, the 49ers could be in trouble.

In Tagovailoa's playoff stinker, he threw the ball a whopping 39 times in the freezing cold weather. In hindsight, his coach, Mike McDaniel, set him up for failure by putting the game in Tua's hands. He doesn't have the arm strength to drive the ball through the cold weather. The Dolphins should have run the ball much more.

And that's why Purdy shouldn't have a meltdown like the one we just saw from Tua. Kyle Shanahan is a more conservative play caller than McDaniel and will protect Purdy as much as possible by committing to the run game.

Purdy is an excellent quarterback, but he never threw more than 37 passes in a game this season. If he throws 39 in a playoff game, there's a good chance he'll throw a pick, and if he throws a pick, there's a good chance the 49ers lose -- they're 2-4 when he throws an interception.

Look for Shanahan to lean on the run game in the playoffs and limit Purdy's pass attempts to roughly 25 per game. If Shanahan does that, the 49ers shouldn't have to worry about Purdy.