Because Brandon Allen is who he is — the backup quarterback — no one noticed he had a broken finger on his non-throwing hand until he started Sunday’s game against the Packers.
The 49ers quarterback had a brace on the middle finger of his left hand when he took the field in place of Brock Purdy.
Fox sideline reporter Tom Rinaldi revealed that Allen broke his finger weeks ago in practice when he took a hard snap.
Allen, though, downplayed the injury, saying it played no part in his performance.
“Nah. None at all,” he said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com.
Allen had two turnovers, throwing an interception and losing a fumble, while competing 17 of 29 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown.
Coach Kyle Shanahan appeared annoyed with a question about why Allen got the start over Joshua Dobbs if Allen is hurt.
“Because he’s not hurt,” Shanahan said. “He’s fine. He hurt his finger like three weeks ago.”
It was Allen’s 10th career start, and his first since 2021.
“Brandon, I thought he did some good things,” Shanahan said. “I thought he made some big throws. Just the plays I can think of, he had a rough one in the beginning that he threw to them. Two plays, he just slipped on that field. That hurt us.
“But I thought Brandon made some big throws and stuff and gave us a chance.”
Purdy missed the game with right shoulder soreness. The 49ers are hopeful he can return next week, but they will have a better feel for where he is Monday.
The 49ers entered Sunday’s game in Green Bay without Brock Purdy, Trent Williams and Nick Bosa. Without them, the game went as expected for San Francisco.
The 49ers had three turnovers, 20 missed tackles and nine penalties for 77 yards in a 38-10 loss to the Packers.
Green Bay improved to 8-3 to remain two games behind the Lions and one behind the Vikings in the NFC North. The 49ers slipped to 5-6, but with the Seahawks beating the Cardinals, they remain only one game back of the lead in the NFC West.
Green Bay dominated start to finish, scoring on six of its first 10 possessions and finished with 325 yards.
Packers running back Josh Jacobs scored three times on three runs of 1-yard. He rushed for 106 yards on 26 carries while dealing with leg cramps in the second half.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love went 13-of-23 for 163 yards and two touchdowns, which came on throws of 11 yards to Tucker Kraft and 3 yards to Malik Heath. Romeo Doubs caught three passes for 54 yards before leaving with a concussion.
49ers backup quarterback Brandon Allen, making only his 10th career start and his first since 2021, lost a fumble and threw an interception while going 17-of-29 for 199 yards and a touchdown. Christian McCaffrey had 11 carries for 31 yards and three catches for 37 yards but lost a fumble.
George Kittle caught six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw four touchdowns to lead his team to a 34-15 win over the Patriots on Sunday, but the schedule doesn’t allow much time for the Dolphins to savor their third straight win.
The Dolphins will be in Green Bay on Thursday night to play the Packers in the final game of this year’s Thanksgiving slate. That meant that Tagovailoa was asked about his 0-7 record in game played at 40 degrees or less — current forecasts call for it to be 33 degrees in Green Bay — since entering the NFL.
“Yeah, I mean I’m excited to kill narratives, so let’s go. Bring it on,” Tagovailoa said, via a transcript from the team.
Tagovailoa and the Dolphins are on their best run of the season, but the quarterback made it clear during his press conference that he’s already looking for what’s next.
I would say it’s always great to win,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s always great to enjoy the win. But there were some things second half-wise that we knew we could have capitalized on that we didn’t, things we said we wanted to do coming out in the second half that we didn’t and those can be frustrating. But I would say we’re still below the .500 threshold and it’s a long way to where we want to get to. We’ll enjoy this win, but this next one is going to be big for us, and we’re excited to go down to Green Bay and show everybody on primetime what we can do.”
If the 5-6 Dolphins can get to .500 at Lambeau Field, they’ll likely convince quite a few people that they’re capable of getting back to the playoffs for the third year in a row.
Packers receiver Romeo Doubs nearly came down with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter. 49ers defensive back Renardo Green was called for pass interference on the play.
Doubs’ head, though, struck the turf as he hit the ground, jarring the ball loose.
He was helped off the field by Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks.
The Packers have ruled him out with a concussion, which is not a good sign for his availability for Thanksgiving Day’s game against the Dolphins.
Running back Josh Jacobs, who has 22 carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns, is in the locker room with leg cramps. The Packers list him as questionable to return.
The 49ers twice threatened to make it a one-score game in Green Bay. They turned it over on downs after reaching the Green Bay 39, and then, after reaching the Green Bay 45 on the next drive, Brandon Allen threw a pick.
The pass caroomed off receiver Deebo Samuel and into the hands of safety Xavier McKinney, who returned it 48 yards to the San Francisco 26.
Three plays later, Packers running back Josh Jacobs scored on a 1-yard run.
It gave the Packers a 24-7 lead with 4:28, but the 49ers since have added a field goal.
McKinney’s pick was the Packers’ first takeaway since Devonte Wyatt recovered a strip-sack by Edgerrin Cooper on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on Oct. 27.
Jacobs’ touchdown was his second of the day. He now has 99 yards on 22 carries.
The Packers dominated the first half, but they lead only 17-7 at halftime.
San Francisco scored on an 11-play, 65-yard drive on their third possession of the game. Tight end George Kittle caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Brandon Allen with 1:02 remaining in the half.
Allen, starting in place of the injury Brock Purdy, went 10-of-13 for 94 yards and a touchdown. The 49ers had only 18 plays, including a kneel down, and 95 yards.
49ers running back Christian McCaffrey saw only three rushing attempts for 4 yards and two receptions for 14 yards. The 49ers likely try to get him more involved in the second half.
Kittle caught four passes for 30 yards and the touchdown.
The Packers have 218 yards and should have a bigger lead.
With 30 seconds left, Christian Watson dropped what should have been a 49-yard touchdown. The Packers ended up punting, the only possession they didn’t score on in the first half.
The Packers had scoring drives of 67, 49 and 71 on their first three possessions.
Packers tight end Tucker Kraft caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love, and Josh Jacobs ran for a 1-yard score. Brandon McManus kicked a 51-yard field goal.
Jacobs has 19 carries for 91 yards, and Love is 8-of-15 for 93 yards. Romeo Doubs has three catches for 54 yards.
The Packers are dominating the 49ers as expected.
San Francisco, which is missing starting quarterback Brock Purdy, starting left tackle Trent Williams and starting edge rusher Nick Bosa, have been outgained 197 to 21 so far. The 49ers trail 17-0.
Tight end Tucker Kraft caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love, and Josh Jacobs ran for a 1-yard score. Brandon McManus kicked a 51-yard field goal.
The Packers have had scoring drives of 67, 49 and 71 on their three possessions.
Love is 8-of-12 for 93 yards and a touchdown, with Romeo Doubs catching three for 54. Jacobs has rushed for 70 yards on 17 carries.
49ers quarterback Brandon Allen, playing for Purdy, is wearing a wrap on his left middle finger. It’s an injury from earlier this season.
The 49ers are in a world of hurt, literally and figuratively.
A report earlier Sunday indicated the 49ers were optimistic about having All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams. They won’t.
Williams (ankle) is among the team’s inactives.
That means the 49ers won’t have Williams, quarterback Brock Purdy (shoulder), edge rusher Nick Bosa (hip/oblique) and cornerback Charvarius Ward (personal) in what feels like a must-win game. The 49ers are 5-5 and tied with the Seahawks and Rams a game back of the Cardinals.
The 49ers’ other inactives are defensive tackle Kevin Givens (groin), wide receiver Jacob Cowing (concussion) and defensive tackle Khalil Davis.
The Packers’ inactives are cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee), safety Kitan Oladapo, linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring) and offensive lineman Jacob Monk.
The 49ers won’t have quarterback Brock Purdy in Green Bay on Sunday, but they hope to have left tackle Trent Williams available to block for Brandon Allen.
Williams is dealing with an ankle injury that led the team to list him as questionable to play this weekend and Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the team is optimistic that he will be able to play. Williams did not practice at all this week.
Williams is expected to go through pregame warmups before a final decision is made about his status.
Purdy has been ruled out with a shoulder injury and word on Sunday morning was that the 49ers believe he’ll be able to return next week. Defensive end Nick Bosa has also been ruled out for Sunday’s game.
The Giants benched quarterback Daniel Jones for business reasons, not for football reasons. And the Giants allowed personal feelings to interfere with what would have been the best business decision — prevent him from going elsewhere and proving the Giants wrong, Saquon-style.
But they’re going to waive him. Even though they haven’t done it, the owner has said it’s going to happen. (The reason for the delay isn’t clear, but it’s clearly coming.)
While many have adopted the narrative that Jones stinks, he doesn’t. He hasn’t. He helped lead the Giants to the playoffs in 2022. With Jones at the helm, the Giants beat the Vikings in Minnesota in the wild-card round. His struggles have typically traced to subpar offensive line play.
Once he’s released and clears waivers (he absolutely will), Jones will be free to sign with any team at any time. He’ll first need to ask whether to join a team now or wait.
Waiting would allow Jones to get a better feel for who the real contenders will be — and it might give him a chance to play sooner than later, if a starter gets injured elsewhere.
Regardless, consider the backup situations for the various contenders and ask whether a guy who earned a contract that paid $40 million per year and won a playoff game would be better than the current No. 2.
Buffalo: Mitch Trubisky. (Probably.)
Miami: Skylar Thompson/Tyler Huntley. (Yes.)
Baltimore: Josh Johnson. (Yes.)
Pittsburgh: Justin Fields. (Yes, but they seem to be committed to Fields as current backup and potential future starter.)
Houston: Davis Mills. (Yes.)
Kansas City: Carson Wentz. (Probably.)
L.A. Chargers: Easton Stick. (Yes.)
Denver: Jarrett Stidham. (Yes.)
Philadelphia: Kenny Pickett. (Yes.)
Washington: Marcus Mariota. (Probably.)
Detroit: Hendon Hooker. (Yes.)
Minnesota: Nick Mullens. (Yes.)
Green Bay: Malik Willis. (Yes, although Willis has played well this year.)
Atlanta: Michael Penix Jr. (Yes, but they likely wouldn’t do it.)
Tampa Bay: Kyle Trask. (Yes.)
Arizona: Clayton Tune. (Yes.)
Seattle: Sam Howell. (Yes.)
San Francisco: Brandon Allen. (Yes.)
L.A. Rams: Jimmy Garoppolo. (Probably.)
So, yes, someone who is currently contending should want Jones. Jones can afford to take his time. To wait for a clear shot to potentially contribute on a team that has the ability to go deep into the playoffs.
And maybe to wait to see if/when a starter gets injured and an immediate need arises for Jones to play, sooner than later.
