What We Learned About Brock Purdy in the 49ers' Loss to the Ravens

Brock Purdy just came back to reality.

Before he lost to the Ravens, people were comparing him to Joe Montana and saying he should win the MVP Award. And the 49ers seemed to believe the hype. So on Christmas night, Kyle Shanahan called five straight passes to start the game, presumably to make a statement: Purdy is the MVP.

And on the fifth throw, instead of checking down to an open Kyle Juszczyk, Purdy threw into the end zone to a covered Deebo Samuel and got intercepted. It was first and 10 from the Ravens 15 -- Purdy didn't have to force that pass into double coverage. Purdy was trying to win the game and the MVP Award on that one play. He was trying to be the hero. He was pressing. And then he pressed the rest of the game.

Lamar Jackson started off slowly as well -- he ran backward and the 49ers sacked him for a safety. But he settled down and eventually showed his MVP mettle. Purdy did not. He never settled down, never showed the calm, poised demeanor he's known for. Instead, he got worse as the game progressed.

This doesn't mean Purdy is a bad quarterback -- he's very good. But when things don't go as planned and he makes a mistake, he doesn't necessarily shake it off and move on. Sometimes, he compounds the mistake and has a complete meltdown, like the one he had on Christmas.

So if Purdy throws an interception in the first quarter of the playoff game, you'd have to wonder if he's on the verge of another meltdown.

I'm guessing the 49ers won't let Purdy throw four picks in a playoff game. I'm guessing they'd take the game out of his hands and run the ball with Christian McCaffrey before they'd let Purdy throw multiple picks in a playoff game.

Frankly, that's what they should have done against the Ravens. Hopefully the 49ers learned their lesson.