Though Christian McCaffrey and the San Francisco 49ers were roundly defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, it's difficult to say what would have happened if Brock Purdy hadn't gotten injured.
That is true of Jimmy Garoppolo, too, after he went down in the regular season. It could also be said of Trey Lance, who lost his season in the second game.
The 49ers had no quarterbacks left and were forced to play an injured Purdy after the fourth-string backup Josh Johnson suffered a concussion. McCaffrey spoke to Kay Adams about this frustrating experience.
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He said:
"It's tough... you don't want to make excuses obviously, but it just sucks because we wish we had a healthy quarterback for a full game and just see how the game would've panned out. It's a really good team that we played but it's just it feels like something got stolen from you."
The former Carolina Panthers running back continued:
"Just wish it would have played out differently, wish we could've ran that one back. Hopefully, they change that rule where you can carry a third quarterback. Definitely still tough."
Purdy was forced back into the game with an injury that will now require surgery. Had they had an able-bodied quarterback or had Purdy, who shocked the world with how well he played all season, not been hurt, it would've been a different story.
What's next for Christian McCaffrey and the San Francisco 49ers?
Christian McCaffrey and the San Francisco 49ers have a lot of questions to answer this season. It can be argued that had one of their first three quarterbacks not gotten injured, they very well would have made it to the Super Bowl.
As it stands, they have to figure out where to go from here, especially at quarterback.
Jimmy Garoppolo is a free agent and is as good as gone. Purdy and Lance are still around, but who do the 9ers go with?
Purdy looked excellent and Lance looked like he was still learning the ropes. On the other hand, Purdy is a seventh-round pick who's bound to come back to earth and Lance was a player the 49ers traded up to get.
The team has a lot of decisions to make going forward.
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