Man, that young 49ers quarterback sure had trouble against the Cleveland Browns.
You were so hopeful about his early returns. He moved well, read the field, made quick decisions, was accurate.
And then he took on Cleveland and doubts came rushing back.
Two interceptions. No touchdowns. Sacked three times. A bad intentional grounding penalty. A passer rating in the lowly 50s. Completed only 57 percent of his passes.
Yeah, that Joe Montana line vs. the Browns on Nov. 15, 1981 sure was a stinker.
Hey oh!
How about that, sports fans? I got you!
All of the above is a true story. And how coincidental. And how . . . reassuring?
Now, now. Nobody is saying young Brock Purdy is JOE FREAKING MONTANA.
But! We are saying that stuff happens. And seems to happen, oddly, against Cleveland. Montana’s worst game of 1981 was a rotten egg against the Browns — and Joe’s intentional grounding even cost the 49ers a safety. How about them bad apples?
On top of that, Montana was in the friendly confines of Candlestick Park! At least Purdy could blame playing in the Factory of Sadness for part of his woes.
Purdy’s all time worst start of his young career — a career only 11 regular season starts deep (!), and a career featuring stellar performance after stellar performance — finally gave a chance for everyone to catch their breath. It reminded us that, unless you’re the 1972 Miami Dolphins, you ain’t going undefeated, son.
The 1981, 15-12 loss to the Browns was Montana’s worst start of the 1981 season, and was his 18th start as a 49er. For the record, that day he went 24-for-42 for 213 yards. Purdy’s line was uglier: 12-for-27, only 125 measly yards, one TD and one INT. Like Montana, he was sacked three times. And like Montana, his passer rating was in the 50s — but in funny twist, Purdy’s 55.3 outdid Joe’s 51.0 for all-time Cleveland low-lights.
And, it must be noted: the 1981 Browns defense, coordinated by a young Marty Schottenheimer, wasn’t much at 23rd out of 28 in points allowed that year. So Joe doesn’t have Brock’s excuse — Jim Schwartz’s 2023 Browns are a top-5 scoring defense and stingiest in the NFL at yielding yardage.
The point of the Jock Blog is to calm most everyone down. I must add, based on the calls and texts we got this morning, most everyone doesn’t need much calming. Most of you all saw the game as:
— a natural letdown on a 10 am kickoff after the Sunday Night Dallas win;
— an offensive line that got beat on the line of scrimmage;
— a run defense that was surprisingly lax;
— Purdy under duress and uncharacteristically inaccurate;
— Purdy stripped of his big-time playmakers, Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey;
— a confluence of unfortunate officiating moments, from the would-be PJ Walker fumble to the Tashaun Gipson unsportsmanlike conduct that kept a Browns drive alive;
— questionable play-calling by Shanahan late in the game;
— and one more thing, what was it? . . . oh, that’s right: Jake Moody MISSING the game-winner from 41 yards out.
Make no mistake, Purdy was awful on Sunday. He was a mistake by the Lake. His next game, next Monday night at Minnesota, will be a wonderful test of his makeup — and his ability to function without McCaffrey, if this oblique injury shelves No. 23. My sense is, the placid calm and processing chips inside ‘Big Brain Brock’ (shout out G-Papa) will result in a positive effort.
Perhaps there is some cosmic comfort in the Purdy-Montana-Cleveland connection. Perhaps, like most things in the universe, it is a random thing with no discernible meaning.
But if you do believe in particles, like my partner, how about this one: the Browns’ loss in 1981 was the last of the season for Joe Montana’s bunch. They won the next five regular season games, finished 13-3, and you know the rest, as I was just saying to the Dwight Clark statue outside of Levi’s Stadium.
Now, here’s to a schedule *without* the Browns going forward — Joe and Brock would concur.
