San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy hands off to San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey on his way to scoring a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. SANTA CLARA – Coach Kyle Shanahan kicked off the 49ers’ bye week with a film review of their straight loss, and it showed some alarming features.
“What sticks out the most on tape was how slow and tired I thought we looked,” Shanahan said of the defense. “When that happens, it leads to bigger holes, it leads to more mistakes, it leads to missed tackles. Purdy’s health, of course, deserves special magnification, if not for his position as the starting quarterback but more so for having experienced concussion symptoms on last Monday night’s flight home from their loss in Minnesota.
Deal or no deal, the 49ers are not one player away from remedying their skid. At least not one player from another team, although a cornerback seems like the most logical target while an offensive or defensive lineman wouldn’t be a surprise, either.