Even after the San Francisco 49ers secured a 23-19 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round, Brock Purdy walked away with mixed feelings. The 49ers quarterback finished the game with 262 yards for two touchdowns, two interceptions, and an 80.3 passer rating to push his team forward. He also delivered the defining moment of the game by finding running back Christian McCaffrey for a 4-yard go-ahead touchdown with just under three minutes left. Still, after the game wrapped up, Purdy focused more on what went wrong with the 49ers’ offense.

“It was not an easy task, and obviously, it’s the NFL, so it never is,” Brock Purdy said in the post-game presser. “But for us to come in here and just do whatever it takes me and obviously, wish we could play a little bit better in certain areas and in certain situations. But at the end of the day, it’s a fourth-quarter game, and you gotta go score for the season and for your team. And then obviously, for the defense to go down and get a stop like that was huge. So, it’s a team effort, and it’s just cool for everybody.”

Brock Purdy made it clear that his offense left plenty on the field. He admitted that the unit could not execute cleanly in key moments, and they simply have to be better. Fortunately for San Francisco, their banged-up defense still slammed the door late, stopping the Eagles just outside the red zone to seal the win. 

That said, the 49ers’ defense didn’t exactly start the Wild Card game strong. On the opening drive of the game, the 49ers’ defense gave up a 10-play drive and got gashed with a 63-yard touchdown march. Then, Philly’s offense also took a 13-7 lead as they chewed up nine more minutes off the play clock with a 16-play, 94-yard touchdown drive. But the 49ers’ defense flipped the script from there, forcing a three-and-out on Philly’s offense to end the first half and give the 49ers offense a chance to fight back.

But what the Niners got from their offensive unit after that were some major mistakes. Late in the first half, trailing 13-10, the 49ers’ offense had a chance to tie the game before the break, but the sequence turned into a mess. The 49ers’ offense couldn’t line up correctly, and then, the unit took too long to start a play after a completion in bounds. To make matters worse, at the end of the half, Brock Purdy fumbled the ball near the sideline and handed the ball right back to Philadelphia.

The second half didn’t start any cleaner for the 49ers’ offense, as Purdy threw a bad interception on the first drive that gave the Eagles good field position. The tone finally began to change two drives later when Purdy connected with fullback Kyle Juszczyk for a 27-yard gain with plenty of yards after the catch. That play set up 49ers’ running back Jauan Jennings for a trick-play TD pass, which gave the Niners the lead to start the fourth quarter. But just when it felt like the 49ers’ offense had found its rhythm, another bad interception showed up on the next drive.

Ultimately, even after the devastating injury to tight end George Kittle in the game, the 49ers’ offense kept fighting, just as it has all season. Still, Brock Purdy’s two second-half interceptions put the 49ers’ defense in tough spots, and head coach Kyle Shanahan made sure to highlight that after the game.

Kyle Shanahan addresses Brock Purdy’s mistakes in the Wild Card game

With the Wild Card win now against the Eagles, Brock Purdy finally earned a road win in Philadelphia. It was a win that Purdy couldn’t get three seasons ago in a rough NFC title game loss. And while Shanahan liked a lot of what he saw of Purdy, he didn’t pretend the night was perfect for the QB.

“So impressed,” Kyle Shanahan said in the post-game presser. “Cause there were two mistakes he’d love to take back. But to play like that on the last drive, especially after two throws like that – he was unbelievable… He was going through some progressions with a really good pass rush.”

Earlier in the Week 12 game against the Carolina Panthers, Purdy was under pressure after he threw 3 interceptions in the game. So, Purdy must surely want to take back two mistakes in the Wild Card game, as they came at such a crucial stage in the season. In the third quarter of the game, while facing pressure, Purdy threw a pass that Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell easily intercepted. Suddenly, with under 11 minutes left in the quarter, Philadelphia had the ball near midfield and real momentum.

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Then it happened again in the fourth quarter as Purdy tried to connect with tight end Jake Tonges, but Mitchell intercepted Purdy’s throw for the second time in the game. The Eagles then took over at their own 38 and kicked a field goal to grab a 19-17 lead with eight minutes to go.

The good news for San Francisco was that the Eagles managed only three points off those turnovers. So, the 49ers still found a way to win, but Purdy will clearly want those throws back, especially with the matchup against the Seattle Seahawks coming up next in the Divisional round.