Sam Darnold received quite a lot of attention on the Christmas edition of Monday Night Football. So much discussion has revolved around Brock Purdy as an NFL MVP candidate, but the San Francisco 49ers are so stacked that a lot of football people think it’s less about the quarterback, more about Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel.
A lot of people think that Sam Darnold can pilot the 49er offense well due to the skill-position studs he has around him. That view gained some traction on Monday. Darnold USC Trojan completed 8 of 14 pass attempts for 81 yards, a touchdown and an interception while adding nine rushing yards on one attempt in the 49ers’ 33-19 loss to the Ravens on Monday Night Football.
Darnold entered the contest well into the second half after Brock Purdy threw four interceptions before exiting with a neck injury. Darnold threw his first touchdown pass of the 2023 season to rookie wideout Ronnie Bell. He very nearly led the Niners to a second fourth-quarter touchdown before taking a bad sack and then throwing an interception in the red zone.
49er head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t sound like he’s ready to bench Purdy next week, however. San Francisco will be a huge favorite over the Washington Commanders on December 31.
“Oh, Brock, he’ll bounce back, ” Shanahan told reporters on Monday. “He’ll be in there … looking at the film. He’ll come to Wednesday ready to go. Hopefully his stinger clears up, which I expect it to. Our whole team will bounce back.”
Darnold was a former first-round pick of the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL draft. He spent the last two seasons with the Carolina Panthers before backing up Brock Purdy on the 49ers.
It will be fascinating to see if Purdy lacks either full health or full confidence in January. Will Darnold be thrust into a playoff situation, and if so, can he lead the 49ers to victory? We know we will learn about Brock Purdy in January. Will we also learn something new about Darnold? He knows he must be ready if the time comes.
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