Uh oh, Brock Purdy. Your detractors are lining up.

The fellowship of Purdy Truthers can smell the validation. They prayed for times like these. Their contention this whole time is that you, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, have been all hype, that you didn’t belong in the company of the game’s elite. They’ve been saying you’re only, well, you, because of the superstars around you. They’ve been eager to relegate you to a lesser tier, put you in line well behind Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield and ’em.

Oh, you better know they are watching and waiting. And hoping. For your downfall.

They’re sitting up in their seats, Brock. Rubbing their hands together greedily, salivating after you couldn’t outduel your former backup Sunday in Minnesota. Their eyes, filled with gleeful anticipation, are fixed on you, No. 13. Waiting to see how you respond to the mounting adversity of this season.

Christian McCaffrey is already on injured reserve. Your offensive line is struggling in pass protection, even the legend Trent Williams, who missed all of training camp in a contract holdout. Brandon Aiyuk, who also missed all of camp, estimated he was at about 85 percent.

Now Deebo Samuel is out.

“Yeah, always when you lose real good players, it’s always tough,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “But it happens all over the league, and it’s a huge part of this league and a huge part of this game. We’ve got to deal with it.”

Let’s keep it real, Purdy. You haven’t been the same without Samuel. The 49ers with you at quarterback are 0-3 in meaningful games in which Deebo doesn’t take at least half the offensive snaps. Your offense has averaged 17 points per game in those games.

The Purdy Truthers haven’t let that go. A trip to the Super Bowl, MVP-caliber stats, and consistent vouching from the superstars around you — nothing has curbed the criticism.

They’re calling you a trust-fund quarterback, a silver-spoon signal caller. They’re still saying your football career began in field-goal range and you don’t know about the struggle. They’re saying you can’t do what the likes of Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen can do — put a team on your shoulders, be the reason your team wins and not just facilitate a loaded roster, overcome the holes in the lineup.

This is about as close as you’ve been to that scenario. Even with the revelation that Jordan Mason has been as RB1, a lineup without McCaffrey and Samuel definitely lowers the fear factor in the defense. Which tends to ratchet up their confidence, and the aggressiveness. Especially considering how vulnerable you’ve been the first couple of weeks to turnovers. You’ve only got two in the first two weeks, but enough near-interceptions to make a defense hungry.

You can shut them up now, though Brock. OK, maybe not shut them up. Beating the 0-2 Los Angeles Rams and winning at home over the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals won’t quiet the mob. But certainly, losing any of those games will increase the fever pitch.

It doesn’t matter how many dimes you throw. Or how big your numbers get. They’ll still see every time you make a questionable throw, or look a little lost, or miss a target. And the defense is getting better at figuring out how to give you problems.

It looked as if the Vikings, in the game we won’t speak about, picked up on a few tendencies the Baltimore Ravens introduced last Christmas. Anticipate and jump on the timing routes and bring pressure from random places — all designed to get you hurried and frantic, which is when you’re most prone to mistakes.

“No, I think that’s what the point of the scheme is,” Shanahan explained. “It’s to have six guys up on the line and come from everywhere. … It’s just a lot of pressure on a quarterback throughout a game. That’s what their scheme is. They’re going to make you think whether you’re hot every play, and if you’re not, then you’ve got to find the open zones. There are a lot of open zones, but it’s tough the way they slow you down. … (Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores) does a really good job of mixing it up, and that is the challenge for a quarterback. It makes it really tough to get into a rhythm.”

When you told Flores his “scheme is crazy” after the game, the Purdy Truthers didn’t see that as a young QB who appreciated being challenged. They didn’t see it as game recognizing game, that it was a sign you’d dive into the film to learn from it. Nah, they saw it as some kind of confession you were overwhelmed.

That’s why you can’t lay an egg these next few weeks. Well, you can. Because Super Bowls aren’t won in September. Sure, it would put the 49ers in a tough spot, maybe even cost you a home game in the NFC Championship, should you make it. But your squad is perfectly capable of rallying late and peaking at the right time.

So you can’t lay an egg because you can’t give the detractors more fodder. Truth be told, you have a legion fighting for you on the interwebs. Plenty are rocking with you Brock, and they need you to shut everybody up.

You’ve still got George Kittle. You’ve still got Mason and the power running game. You’ve still got Aiyuk, who is due for a big game.

“There were a number of times he had a real good chance to get the ball,” Shanahan said of Aiyuk, “and a couple times protections broke down on two of them. One time someone busted a route and just got in the same way, so they covered it up. But he had a chance to get about four big passes and other factors happened. It’s a team game. There are 11 guys out there that are involved in getting someone the ball. He did have some opportunities where he should have, but not everything went right.”

You’ve got enough to win. You’ve got enough to lead your team through this rough patch. This was always in the cards. Getting back to the Super Bowl is a daunting task. And NFL teams are like crabs in a bucket. This was always going to be hard.

Yet necessary. This is the hardship they said you can’t handle. This is the cape they believe is too heavy for your shoulders. They don’t believe you’re one of them ones, Brock.

You better show ’em.

GO DEEPER

Nothing easy for Brock Purdy as Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers offense try to find their feet

(Top photo of Brock Purdy during Sunday’s game against the Vikings: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)

Justin Fields and Caleb Williams will be forever linked. 

The Chicago Bears selected Fields in the first round in 2021. He would go on to spend the first three years of his NFL career in Chicago. This past March, that same franchise decided to trade Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2025. Just over a month later, the Bears used the first overall draft pick on Williams.

Fields experienced his fair share of ups and downs throughout his 40-game tenure with the Bears, but he has seemed to have found his footing with the Steelers. Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson was named the starter heading into the 2024 regular season, but he was scratched from Pittsburgh’s season opener against the Atlanta Falcons due to a hamstring injury.

Fields helped lift the Steelers to an 18-10 victory over the Falcons in Atlanta. Last week, Fields threw one touchdown and avoided turning the ball over in a game against the Denver Broncos to help Pittsburgh improve to 2-0 on the season.

STEELERS STICKING WITH JUSTIN FIELDS AT QB OVER INJURED RUSSELL WILSON FOR WEEK 3

Meanwhile, Williams’ final stat line after his NFL debut was largely forgettable. The Bears scored 24 points, which was enough to defeat the Tennessee Titans, but Williams finished the day with just 93 passing yards and no touchdowns. 

Williams delivered another pedestrian performance on Sunday night as the Bears suffered a 19-13 loss to 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams heads off the field following an NFL football game against the Texans on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Fields dealt with similar issues during his stint with the Bears. While Matt Nagy was the head coach during Fields’ rookie campaign, much of the Bears’ current regime, which is led by Matt Eberflus, was in place when the 25-year-old signal-caller was in Chicago.

Fields worked under a couple of different offensive coordinators during his run in the Windy City, but Eberflus’ approach to the offense appeared to largely remain the same. Eberflus elected to bring in Shane Waldron from the Seahawks to help guide Williams this season, but the results through the first pair of games have been underwhelming. 

Fields can certainly relate to what Williams is going through, and he told Fox News Digital that he believes the Heisman Trophy winner will ultimately recover from the slow start.

“I think he’s going to be fine,” Fields said when asked about how Williams will fare as the season progresses. “It’s his second game. He just got done playing. He’s talented, he has all the talent in the world. They drafted him No. 1 overall for a reason. 

“Of course, it’s just not him, but he’s going to get most of the blame just because of the position he’s in,” he continued. “But just as a whole … the guys over there I know … they want to be better, and I think they’re going to be better. So, I’m hoping that they start getting [the things] done on offense that they need to do.

“[Caleb] played two pretty good defenses coming out, so I think he’ll be fine.”

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) runs against Broncos defensive end Zach Allen (99) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Fields spoke to Fox News Digital on behalf of Reebok. This month, the NFL star teamed up with Reebok for the new Justin Fields collection. 

The collaboration introduces a training shoe called the Nano X4, a running shoe, the FloatZig 1, and a youth-sized shoe known as the Zig Dynamica 2.0. Every shoe in the collection features the mantra “Evening the Playing Fields” in the sock liner.

“It’s an honor to launch the Justin Fields Collection with Reebok and continue our shared mission of supporting the next generation of athletes,” Fields said. “The collection is designed to pay homage to my roots and the community around me.”

NFL quarterback Justin Fields’ Reebok footwear capsule titled “Reebok x Justin Fields” launched on Sept. 12. (Reebok)

Fields was named “Mr. Georgia football” during his standout high school football career. He went on to commit to the Bulldogs. But after experiencing limited playing time during his freshman season, he transferred to Ohio State. He went on to lead the Buckeyes to an appearance in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship game.

At just 25 years old, Fields has experienced quite a lot in his football career. He said his faith and his family help keep him grounded.

“God, to be honest, because I’ve seen how he’s worked in my life in those moments,” Fields told Fox News Digital when he reflected on changing schools and joining a new NFL team. “Just in life for anybody, we all come up with ideas in our heads of how we want certain things to play out, and that might not always be God’s will. He [does] things in a different way, and it turns out better than you could ever imagine.

“So, just trusting in him each and every day and also my family, really just the people who support me. Because I just know how God has put me on this platform to just inspire others … other people see what I’ve been through, so I just try and be a good role because at the end of the day we’re all going through something.”

Fields and the Steelers welcome the undefeated Los Angeles Chargers to Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 22 for Pittsburgh’s regular-season home opener.

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If you’ve watched the Sparks this season, their home finale went about exactly as you might have expected.

The Sparks got off to a hot start, building an advantage on the boards that led to a noticeable 12-2 margin in second-chance points as they took an eight-point lead into halftime. Then, an absolutely horrid third-quarter stretch snowballed as the Phoenix Mercury came roaring back to defeat the Sparks 85-81, handing them their eighth consecutive loss, tying a franchise record to close out their home schedule.

“It was that snowball effect again that we’ve talked about,” Sparks head coach Curt Miller said. “The offensive inefficiency, the offensive turnovers, a tough shooting night snowballed to where we lost some of our defensive focus and defensive intensity.”

After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Sparks opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run to take control of the game thanks in large part to strong performances off the bench from Li Yueru and Zia Cooke, whose nine points each tied Dearica Hamby for the team lead at the half. Rickea Jackson was starting to find her groove in the second half as well, getting to the line and shooting a perfect four for four on her free throws.

“I’m really appreciative of my coaching staff and all my teammates. They try to help me every game and every practice,” said Yueru, who had her first career double-double with career highs in both points (19) and rebounds (12). “I feel I really grew up.”

The Sparks were in full control of the game, with Brittney Griner the only Mercury player with more than five points (14) in the first half. But the mood shifted in the final seconds before halftime when Griner threw an elbow at Jackson, who took exception. They got in each other’s faces and exchanged shoves. After a lengthy official review, double technical fouls were handed out and Jackson and Griner were ejected from the game.

Almost as if on cue, things began to unravel for the Sparks once the second half was underway. The Mercury got off to a quick 10-2 run of their own to erase the Sparks lead, and finished the quarter on a 9-4 run to push it to double digits. In Griner’s absence, it was 20-year veteran Diana Taurasi (13 points, three rebounds, five assists), Sophie Cunningham (14 points, three rebounds, two assists), and Natasha Cloud (13 points, 12 assists) who stepped up to lead the Mercury.

“To Phoenix’s credit, they made it ugly,” Miller said. “They played a lot of zone, they scrambled around and pressed without BG. I thought we were on our heels immediately in the third quarter, got a little tentative against the zone. I didn’t think that first unit shared the ball particularly well.”

Miller in his postgame comments praised Taurasi as one of the greatest to ever play the game, referring to her as one of the torch-bearers of the WNBA.

“I don’t know if that truly is Diana’s last regular season road game, but she has meant so much to this league,” he said. “She continues to play at an extremely high level. … The GOAT gets tossed around a lot in sports these days, but truly one of the best to ever do it. And the longevity that she’s done it at is truly remarkable.”

Meanwhile, nothing went the Sparks’ way in the third quarter. They had eight turnovers, which matched their total in the first half. In total, they gave up 31 points off 20 turnovers, as both the ball and the game continued to slip away.

After the final buzzer sounded, sealing the defeat and an abysmal 5-15 home record this season, Azura Stevens took a minute to address the crowd at Crypto.com Arena.

“I can promise you that each and every one of us will be in the gym this offseason and we’re going to get better,” Stevens said. “Mark my words, next year is going to be different.”