Brock Purdy was not pleased with his Divisional Round playoff performance against the Green Bay Packers. The second-year quarterback came through for a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, overcoming and uneven performance in the pouring rain.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic joined F.P. and Dibs Wednesday morning to break down all things 49ers. He assessed Purdy's performance and broke down why he thinks his response this weekend will be impressive.
So, what exactly happened Saturday? Barrows thinks the rain was a massive factor.
"I think it's a known fact now that he doesn't play very well in the rain," Barrows said. "I mean, he said as much after the game that he was kind of going back and forth about wearing a glove and you saw that some of the short passes were off target.
"And that's sort of a counterintuitive thing with a wet ball is you would think that the easy throws that are the shorter ones, sometimes it's the opposite. Because you'd have to get rid of those quick throws so quickly, that you don't have a second to sort of get a good grip on the ball...
"On Saturday, the rain only seemed to get more intense as the game went on and so that's why that's why you saw Purdy, he looked great on some plays. He was bad on others. I think the rain was very much a big part of that and he was trying to adjust the whole time."
Barrows believes Purdy will play well against the Lions this weekend in part due to the weather improving and in part due to Purdy's chip on his shoulder. That's on top of his proven track record.
"I think my thought is that Brock Purdy is going to respond very nicely to this game," Barrows said. "I mean, there were reasons why he was so off against Green Bay. And when that happens, he usually has a very, very good game the following week.
"I think the forecast is in his favor. I think it was something like 71 degrees and partly sunny on Sunday, so that's going to help, but I think that this past game — there's already a chip on the guy's shoulder. I think this only kind of adds a little bit more weight to that chip and I think he's going to be ready and have a really nice game."
