After the Packers beat the Bears by blocking a field goal on the last play of the game, Bears coach Matt Eberflus claimed the Packers should have been flagged because “they were obviously on our long snapper.”
The NFL disagrees.
The Bears sent the play into the league for an explanation, and the league’s officiating office informed the Bears that the Packers made a clean play, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
NFL rules prohibit lining up directly across from the long snapper, or making contact with him while his head is still down immediately following the snap. Packers defensive lineman T.J. Slaton was lined up legally but did make contact with Bears long snapper Scott Daly on the blocked field goal. But the league ruled that the Slaton’s contact was legal. Contact can be made with long snappers as long as it’s not when the long snapper’s head is down immediately following the snap.
If the officials had ruled that Slaton had illegally contacted Daly while his head was still down, it would have been a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty and the Bears would have had another chance to make the field goal. But the officials didn’t throw the flag and the Packers won. And the league office says that was the correct call.
Brock Purdy will travel with the 49ers, but soreness in his right shoulder will keep him from playing in Sunday’s game against the Packers.
Instead, Brandon Allen will make his first start since the final week of the 2021 season.
“It’s an opportunity,” Allen told reporters Friday, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “The circumstances are what they are, but I think our team, all year long, we’ve been kind of dealing with injuries here and there, and it’s been a big next-man-up mentality.
“So, it’s definitely an opportunity for me to go out and play well and put our guys in a good position to win the game. And obviously, we want Brock back and healthy and all that, but for the time being, it is an opportunity for me.”
Allen, 32, was the third-string quarterback last season after originally signing with the 49ers. When Sam Darnold left for the Vikings, the 49ers signed Joshua Dobbs.
Allen beat out Dobbs for the backup job.
“I feel very comfortable in the offense,” Allen said. “Definitely, going back to last year, and then all through this year, just being in the system, calling the plays, seeing them play out, all that. So, I definitely feel comfortable in this offense.”
Allen has made only nine starts in his career, going 2-7, and he has played only 16 games. He has thrown three passes the past three seasons.
Allen said he never questioned whether he’d ever get another chance to start.
“For me, it’s my opportunity now, so I’ll take advantage of it now,” Allen said. “But those things really don’t cross your mind, how long you’re going to play and all that. There’s definitely guys older than me still playing, so that usually doesn’t come across my mind.”
The 49ers have ruled out quarterback Brock Purdy for Sunday’s game against the Packers.
It appeared to be trending that way when Purdy wasn’t on the field for the start of Friday’s practice.
Purdy has a right shoulder injury that kept him from throwing the ball Wednesday and again Thursday, which was a surprise to the team. He was listed as limited the first two practice days before not practicing Friday.
“I don’t want to say there’s long-term concern,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday. “You know, got the MRI on Monday and thought he just needed some rest and really weren’t concerned about him not being good this week. But when he started up Thursday, surprised him, surprised us how it felt, so we had to shut him down. So, I really don’t know what to think of it. The MRI doesn’t look like that, but the way it responded this week is really up in the air for next week. We will have to see Monday.”
Brandon Allen will start this week, with Joshua Dobbs as his backup. Allen has not started a game since 2021 and has played only 16 games with nine starts in his career.
Purdy appeared to injure the shoulder when his hand hit the arm of Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon as he released a pass early in the fourth quarter Sunday, though Shanahan said Purdy doesn’t know when he injured it. Purdy did not miss time with the injury in Sunday’s loss.
“Just complaining about how tight it was throughout the game,” Shanahan said. “It sort of happened throughout the game. That’s why he was warming up a lot more than usual. He said he had a hard time keeping it loose. Then, after the game is when it really started to hurt, and Monday morning is why we did an MRI for it.”
Purdy has thrown for 2,613 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season.
The 49ers also ruled out defensive end Nick Bosa (hip/oblique), giving them another concern as they face what feels like a must-win game at Green Bay.
Cornerback Charvarius Ward (personal), punt returner Jacob Cowing (concussion), linebacker Tatum Bethune (knee) and defensive tackle Kevin Givens (groin) also won’t play this week.
Left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) and center/guard Jon Feliciano (knee) are questionable. Williams did not practice this week.
For the first time in a long time, the 49ers are not favored to win this week.
The Packers are favored by 3.5 points at most sports books in Sunday’s game in Green Bay. That puts the 49ers in a position they haven’t often been in, as underdogs.
According to ESPN, this breaks a streak of 36 consecutive regular-season games in which the 49ers have been favored, which is the third-longest such streak of the Super Bowl era. The Patriots were favored in 64 straight regular-season games from 2016 to 2020, and the Rams were favored in 50 consecutive regular-season games from 1999 to 2002.
The last time the 49ers were underdogs was on October 23, 2022 when they were one-point underdogs to the Chiefs.
Quarterback Brock Purdy’s availability for Sunday’s matchup with the Packers appears to be in doubt.
According to multiple reporters on the scene, Purdy was not present for the portion of Friday’s practice open to media.
Purdy has been dealing with a right shoulder injury this week and was listed as limited on Wednesday and Thursday’s injury reports. General Manager John Lynch said in a Friday morning radio interview that Purdy’s status was “tenuous.”
Brandon Allen or Josh Dobbs would start for San Francisco if Purdy is not able to play.
Edge rusher Nick Bosa (hip, oblique) and offensive tackle Trent Williams (ankle) were also absent at the start of Friday’s practice. Neither Bosa nor Williams have practiced this week.
The 49ers’ full injury report with game statuses will be released later on Friday afternoon.
