San Francisco quarterback Josh Johnson was thrown into the fire in Sunday’s NFC title game after starter Brock Purdy injured his elbow on the 49ers’ first offensive possession, and it was only their fourth. The beginning of the health problem.
Purdy was listed as a questionable return with an elbow injury, and Johnson took over the offense. But the 49ers found themselves in a dangerous situation in the third quarter when Johnson took a hard hit and hit the back of his head on the turf. After possession, he was taken to the locker room and ruled out after being evaluated for concussion.
Purdy returned to the game at quarterback for San Francisco before the offense struck out two straight 3s and threw a shaky screen pass to Christian McCaffrey, only to be blocked on the third down. The Eagles defense smelled it.
It’s not known if Purdy can throw a football onto the field because of his elbow problem, but if he can’t, it’s possible that linebacker Kyle Juszczyk or McCaffrey could line up for a tackle at quarterback as the game progresses.
Juszczyk is officially listed as an emergency quarterback on the depth chart, but given McCaffrey’s versatile role in the offense, he certainly has the potential to be a Wildcat quarterback as well.
The 49ers trailed 21-7 when Johnson was injured in the third quarter, before the Hawks scored another touchdown to make it 28-7 at the end of the quarter.
