The 49ers’ 20-9 win over the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football was, in many ways, a microcosm of their 2025 season. Despite enduring a handful of horrors and looking uninspiring in many facets, the Niners came out on top, taking advantage of a weaker opponent to survive and move to 8-4.
There was great, there was bad, and there was definitely ugly. For all the praise Brock Purdy got after a dominant return last week in Arizona, he deserves the criticism he’s receiving after a brutal first half in which he threw three interceptions after tossing a touchdown on the opening drive. It seems the verdict from inside the building is that all three throws were the right decision, but Purdy just failed to execute. Pair that with some nice hands from the Panthers defensive backfield, and you get the nightmare half that Purdy endured.
Kyle Shanahan on Purdy's three interceptions:
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 25, 2025
"Just three throws he'd love to take back... You gotta think about all of them, why it's happening. It would make me a lot more hesitant if they were bad decisions. They were good decisions, he just missed the throw on them." pic.twitter.com/piE3lxoBva
Purdy echoed his head coach’s sentiment, adding that the interceptions had nothing to do with his formerly ailing turf toe.
"I needed to just drive the ball a little more, I kept it up in the air too long on multiple of them... It had nothing to do with my toe."
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 25, 2025
Brock Purdy agrees with Kyle Shanahan, his three interceptions were good decisions, bad throws. pic.twitter.com/XDwSVddr9r
Once again, Kyle Shanahan leaned heavily on the run game, pounding the rock to Christian McCaffrey. CMC racked up a whopping 31 touches, going voer 100 scrimmage yards for the 10th time in 12 games this season. Facing his former team, he scored and carried the Niners on cruise control in the second half.
There were some fireworks as the clock ran down and the Niners were set to get into victory formation. A scrum broke out between Jauan Jennings and Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig. At first glance it looked as though Jennings was th einstigator. Upon further review, however, it became clear that Jennings was understandably retaliating to being deliberately punched in a very sensitive spot. Shanahan had his back after the game, stating what happened with a straight face.
This is NUTS⬇️
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 25, 2025
"Yeah the guy took a cheap shot and hit him in the balls. I was real proud of Jauan for not losing his mind out there."
Kyle Shanahan fully backs Jauan Jennings after he was hit with a cheap shot in a sensitive area at the end of the game. pic.twitter.com/pGzBhg8zd3
Jennings, likely aware that the tape of the incident and what caused it to escalate, was able to take the high road in the locker room when asked by the media about his apparent outburst.
"TV gonna tell you what happened man... to me some childish behavior."
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 25, 2025
Jauan Jennings said let the tape speak for itself 🥜⬇️ pic.twitter.com/64rwXGFjFB
Anyone hoping for a reprieve for Brock Purdy in week 13 will utter an audible gulp when they look at the schedule to find a road tilt in wintery Cleveland next on the menu for the Niners. Are the Browns good? Absolutely not. But their defense is. And Brock Purdy doesn’t have the best track record in cold weather, and it might snow on Sunday in Northeast Ohio. But, San Francisco should still win. It should lean heavily on the run game mostly because of those elements, not because of any quarterback indictment.
8-4, Faithful. Most fan bases would kill for that record right now.
