In a game the San Francisco 49ers controlled from start to finish, quarterback Brock Purdy’s uneven performance on November 24 against the Carolina Panthers left many fans and analysts wondering if the team should switch back to Mac Jones.
The Niners’ 20–9 win over the Panthers on Monday Night likely would have felt like a rout had Purdy not tossed three first-half interceptions.
Purdy walked into 2025 as the unquestioned franchise QB, and he remains QB1. But he also got banged up early in the season, battling through toe and shoulder issues. In four starts this year, he’s thrown for 979 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions, completing 68.7% of his passes.
After the win, Purdy insisted his toe issues had nothing to do with his picks, but that didn’t stop the calls for Jones to take the reins.
Fans & Analysts Call on 49ers to Bench Brock Purdy & Turn to Mac Jones: ‘There’s a QB Controversy Brewing’
GettySome are calling for the San Francisco 49ers to bench Brock Purdy in favor of QB Mac Jones.
“After Brock Purdy’s awful performance on MNF, many 49ers fans are calling for Mac Jones to start going forward,” PFSN’s X account posted after the 49ers win. “PFSN Deputy Editor Alex Kennedy says that there’s a QB controversy brewing in San Francisco, and Purdy’s five-year, $265 million contract could end up haunting the 49ers.”
“Mac Jones, get ready. Purdy is awful 2nite,” Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe added.
“There was no reason to bench Mac Jones. Brock Purdy is rusty and less than 100 percent,” Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn wrote on X.
“Just had three throws he’d love to take back,” 49ers head coach Kyle SHanahan said about Purdy’s three INTs against Carolina (h/t 49ers Webzone). “They’re all three good decisions. Just a hair late on them and when you’re a hair late on stuff, you can’t throw behind him and he threw it behind him and all three guys made him pay.”
With Shanahan saying things like that, the calls to bench Purdy are likely to go unanswered, at least for now. The 49ers coach has been almost professorial in dismissing the idea of a QB controversy.
Besides, Purdy’s $265 million deal gives him a very long leash, and teams that enter Week 13 at 8–4 rarely yank their starter because of one very bad night.
Still, Jones Is Waiting in the Wings
In eight starts in relief of Purdy, Jones has completed just under 70% of his passes for 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions, going 5–3 in that span. He played well against the NFC’s top seeded Rams (9-2) twice this year, beating them once.
But Purdy has been paid, and the Niners are going to roll with him barring catastrophe.
“You’ve got to think about all of them and why it’s happening,” Shanny added, when pressed about Purdy’s turnovers. “It makes me a lot more hesitant if they’re all bad decisions and stuff. But, he was seeing it right. They were all really good decisions. He just missed the throw on them. So, I think it is a lot worse when you feel like he’s not making the right decisions.”
That may be true, but if Purdy’s turnover issues persist — like, say, another multi-interception game pops up at the wrong time, or if one bad game snowballs into a three- or four-game skid — Shanahan will have a very difficult decision to make.
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