The San Francisco 49ers selected their cost-effective quarterback Brock Purdy with the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft. The move has been one of the best to date as he became the first signal-caller in the league to start 5-0 in both his first and second season.
However, things have not gone well for the 49ers for the last two weeks. Despite entering the Week 6 match as the hot favorite, they lost to the Cleveland Browns, who had been playing with QB2 P.J. Walker. Before recovering from the blow, the team sustained another setback in Week 7 by embracing defeat against the Minnesota Vikings, and Purdy had to take all the blame for the 17-22 loss.
Brock Purdy’s disaster class vs Vikings
The 49ers entered the week with a 5-1 mark while the Vikings were 2-4. Like Week 6, they entered the campaign as the potential winner but had to digest the embarrassment of a five-point loss. With this loss, the franchise fell to 5-2, and now, only the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles remain with a 6-1 record.
In the 49ers’ Week 7 loss, Purdy was 21-of-30 for 272 yards along with a touchdown. He had the chance of scoring a game-winning drive in the last quarter of the match. However, the dual threat missed them and threw two interceptions, with the last coming while 25 seconds were left.
Last week, Purdy revealed he was eying the 49ers, Vikings, and Houston if he went undrafted, vas per Yahoo Sports. Kevin Seifert and Nick Wagoner of ESPN earlier reported that he was heavily pursued by the Vikings in the final hours of the 2022 NFL Draft. The signal-caller played the Week 7 match in a way like he had some feelings left for Minnesota.
Jokes apart, this marked the second consecutive match the QB struggled on the field. In the 49ers 17-19 loss to the Browns in Week 6, he recorded only 125 yards along with one touchdown and one interception.
Kirk Cousins masterclass vs 49ers
After embracing back-to-back defeats, the Vikings fans might not be expecting a win in week 7, especially when the rival is one of the top three teams this season. However, their quarterback Kirk Cousins moonlighted as a hero to steal a win from the 49ers, even without having veteran receiver Justin Jefferson in the squad due to injury.
The Vikings were leading the match from the first quarter. Though the 49ers were able to cut down the deficit after a while, winning a game was not destined for them in Minnesota as the team lost their seventh consecutive game there. On the offensive side, Cousins did his quarterbacking job at his best by throwing for 378 yards and two touchdowns while completing 35 of 45 passes.
“One play here, one play there. We’ve had some tough losses. Last year we were fortunate enough to pull them out. We found a way tonight,” he said following the win.
Meanwhile, rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison as well as tight end T.J. Hockenson played the passing game incredibly in the absence of Jefferson. Addison recorded seven catches for 123 yards along with two touchdowns while Hockenson caught 11 passes for 86 yards.
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