Brandon Allen didn’t receive much help from his San Francisco 49ers teammates as he made his first start in nearly three years. The 32-year-old journeyman quarterback filled in for the injured Brock Purdy, but the 49ers lost 38-10 to the Green Bay Packers, dropping to 5-6 and last place in the NFC West.
Allen played decently, completing 17 of 29 passes for 199 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He also fumbled twice, losing one, with his interception coming when Deebo Samuel’s hands missed the ball, and Green Bay’s Xavier McKinney intercepted it.
The 49ers only scored one touchdown, a 3-yard pass from Allen to tight end George Kittle. “I thought he played well,” Kittle said. “We just have to play better.”
In Purdy’s absence, San Francisco’s regular players couldn’t perform well enough to secure a win. The team struggled with injuries, missing Purdy due to a shoulder problem, left tackle Trent Williams with an ankle injury, edge rusher Nick Bosa with a hip/oblique issue, and running back Christian McCaffrey, who is still dealing with Achilles tendinitis.
Coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t have an update on Purdy’s availability for next week’s game against the Buffalo Bills. “He’s been rehabbing the whole time here,” Shanahan said. “I’m sure we’ll take him through some stuff early Monday and Tuesday and get a better idea then.”
Allen, who joined the 49ers last year but had not played until this game, said the loss came down to mistakes. “We started to build some momentum there at the end of the half,” Allen said. “The second half, had some drives going and just penalties and turnovers really killed us.”
San Francisco made too many mistakes throughout the game. They committed three turnovers, had nine penalties, and missed 15 tackles in the first half alone. McCaffrey was held to just 31 yards on 11 carries and 37 yards on three catches.
San Francisco’s defense also had a poor performance. The Packers’ Josh Jacobs rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns. Jacobs became the first player to rush for 100 yards or more against the 49ers in the past 55 regular-season games. The last time this happened was on October 31, 2021, when Chicago’s Justin Fields ran for 103 yards.
Niners linebacker Fred Warner said, “That’s about as bad as it can get. It was probably the worst I’ve been a part of.”
In the second half, after falling behind 17-7, the 49ers had a costly penalty when Eric Saubert was flagged for holding on a 87-yard kickoff return by Samuel, wiping out what would have been a first-and-goal opportunity. Later, they turned the ball over on three of their next five drives, leading to Green Bay touchdowns after each turnover.
Despite the loss, San Francisco is still in contention for the NFC West title. Thanks to Arizona’s loss to Seattle, the 49ers remain just one game behind in the division.
“It’s one game at a time,” McCaffrey said. “Each day you’ve got to wake up, look yourself in the mirror and get better, whether you win or lose. Speaking for me personally, that’s what I’m going to do.”
