Brock Purdy's performance wasn't bad in his first Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers, but it just wasn't good enough to unseat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The former final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft threw for 255 yards and a touchdown pass with a QBR of a respectable 69.8. Despite starting strong in the first half, he and the 49ers offense struggled down the stretch and ended up dropping Super Bowl LVIII by a 25-22 score in overtime.
In the aftermath of the crushing loss, Purdy's performance has come under fire by some NFL greats. Most notably, the most conversational tight end in NFL history.
"When you've got that roster, you've got to close the deal," former Broncos and Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe said on ESPN's First Take Monday morning.
Sharpe highlighted the team's wealth of talent along the skill positions including 2023 Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, and All-Pros Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.
"If I put Patrick Mahomes on San Francisco how many championships do they win?" Sharpe questioned. "I can rattle off 7-8 names off the top of my head that I would take instead of him and if I put those guys on that same offense they would be better than him. That's just me."
It may seem crazy to criticize Purdy for a solid Super Bowl performance, but there's no denying the 49ers squandered a golden opportunity to win their sixth Super Bowl in franchise history.
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San Fran 10-0 lead early and dominated in the trenches for most of the game. The offense's inability to capitalize on the Chiefs' two turnovers resulted in allowing now the three-time Super Bowl MVP Mahomes to stage another Super Bowl comeback.
Could other players like 2023 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson have been more successful than Purdy on that stage? Jackson was part of a Ravens squad that led the league in regular season wins this season, but fell to these same Chiefs 17-10 in the conference championship game.
While Sharpe and many other NFL analysts have taken an aggressive approach when dissecting the tape from Super Bowl LVIII, the only major takeaway simply is that the Chiefs not only have the best quarterback in football but should be the runaway favorites to win a third-straight Super Bowl in 2024.