‘Bad coaching’ reason for 49ers’ Super Bowl LVIII loss not Brock Purdy, ex-NFL star says

As the San Francisco 49ers stormed to a Super Bowl appearance in the playoffs, former NFL player Cam Newton was among those who criticized Brock Purdy’s performance.

In Super Bowl LVIII, Purdy did alright against the Kansas City Chiefs. He completed 23 of 38 passes for 255 passing yards and one touchdown. He was fired just once.

Cam Newton in the Nevada desert
Cam Newton during Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl Party on February 10, 2024, at The Cosmopolitan’s Marquee Dayclub. (Christopher Polk via Getty Images; Billboard))

In his “4th & 1” podcast, Newton cleared Purdy of all blame for the 49ers’ 25-22 defeat. He blamed it on the coaching choices and San Francisco’s choice to start the overtime period with the ball in hand.

“That’s not Brock Purdy, field goal versus touchdown,” remarked the former quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. “Why the devil did they get the ball ahead of them? Tony Romo brought up the point that you now have four downs, not three, to get what you need to know.

“All the 49ers wanted was to score points. Furthermore, that is poor coaching; Brock Purdy is not to blame for it. The number of people who were exposed was excessive. They were ignorant of the actual overtime regulations.”

Purdy, according to Newton, “played good enough for his team to win.”

Brock Purdy tackled the 49ers of San Francisco. At Allegiant Stadium, Brock Purdy (#13) runs the football against Justin Reid (#20) of the Kansas City Chiefs. (Sports Illustrated by Eric W. Rasco via Getty Images))

FORMER NFL STAR JJ Watt wants the league to think about making a change regarding holding penalties.

The former NFL MVP argued that the 49ers players’ ignorance of the overtime regulations was a major issue. Several players acknowledged this following the match.

“What do you know? “I was unaware that the playoff regulations were altered during overtime,” 49ers wide receiver Kyle Juszczyk stated following the match, as reported by ESPN. I’m assuming that all you want is for the ball to go for a touchdown and win. That must not be the case. I’m not really sure what the plan is there. No, we hadn’t discussed it.

Niners’ line of defense Even Arik Armstead was ignorant of the regulations.

“I didn’t even know about the new playoff overtime rule, so it was a surprise to me,” he told ESPN. “I didn’t even really know what was going on in terms of that.”