49ers' Brock Purdy Felt He Had to Be Superman as He 'Lost Sight of' Role in 2024

Just a few weeks before the start of the 2025 campaign, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy opened up about his disappointing 2024 season.

Purdy admitted to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer that losing in Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs affected his mindset heading into last year, as he felt he had to carry the team on his back for the 49ers to make it back to the title game.

"I would say I was frustrated about losing the Super Bowl, and it was like, Alright, we got to get back," Purdy said. "That's all I saw, was getting back. And because some of those guys are out, I have to go make plays to get us back. And for me, I was losing sight of, Bro, keep every play as simple as possible, and don't complicate it. And you will get back if you do your job the right way, every single drive for four quarters, and you win the game. At times, I lost sight of that. I was trying to do too much."

The 49ers struggled to find their footing throughout the 2024 season on their way to finishing with a 6-11 record and missing the playoffs. San Francisco dealt with a rash of injuries to multiple key players, including star running back Christian McCaffrey and receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Those absences caused Purdy to shoulder more of a load than necessary.

"I felt this pressure on myself that I need to be this Superman-type guy, and go out and make plays off schedule," he said. "There were some moments when I was like, Dude, you've got to go back to the basics. It doesn't matter who's out there. The way Kyle [Shanahan] calls plays, you run it right, just like your rookie year, and it works. Stick to that and be consistent. Don't go searching because Christian is out of this game, and you think you have to go replace him."

Purdy threw for 3,864 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 15 games last year. He said he finds it exciting that many have written him and the 49ers off as title contenders entering the 2025 season, and he's ready to help the team reestablish itself among the elites in the NFL.

"I feel like there's this … Oh, they're in a rebuild," Purdy said. "And so for me, what excites me is I want to go show everybody we have what it takes to win right now. It doesn't matter, we're going to go build and come together [over time], and then go put a season together, man, and make a run. And I think we have the team to go win it all. And I'll say it, but that's what excites me.

"McCaffrey was talking a couple of months ago before we went to our summer break, and he was like, Dude, we all only have a window of time in our career, whether that's four, five, six, eight, 10 years of your career. Don't finish your 10-year career and have all these regrets, man. Let's go all out for this window we have in our life to play football for the Niners and go win a championship."