The 49ers’ Brock Purdy is no bust but he shouldn’t have played on Sunday

San Francisco have lost three in a row but even with a downturn in form, their recently concussed quarterback should have been benched for the day

OK, so maybe Brock Purdy isn't the second coming of Joe Montana. With the Hall of Famer in attendance at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, Purdy sputtered in a 31-17 loss to the surging Cincinnati Bengals. Once again, he was a turnover machine, throwing two interceptions on back-to-back passes and also losing a fumble. It's a troubling trend for the former Mr Irrelevant, who started the season running Kyle Shanahan's offense so effectively. In the first five games of the season, all of which San Francisco won, Purdy threw nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. In the last three games, all of which San Francisco have lost, he's thrown five interceptions to three touchdowns.

After the game, Shanahan offered a mixed review of his quarterback: He made some bad picks there at the end. I thought he was one of the reasons we were in the game today. Some of those throws he made were unbelievable."