Brock Purdy’s status for Week 8’s matchup between the 49ers and Bengals was uncertain after the quarterback went into concussion protocol. That raised the possibility that backup Sam Darnold could start.
Purdy cleared concussion protocol on Saturday, allowing him to start against Cincinnati. But the CBS graphics department appeared unaware of that information, judging from what was shown on screen as the second half began.
Broadcasters Jim Nantz and Tony Romo were recapping the first half as a graphic showed the statistics of the two quarterbacks. But Darnold was on screen next to Joe Burrow instead of Purdy. Romo didn’t say anything about the gaffe, but as San Francisco’s Jake Moody kicked off, Nantz addressed the mistake presented to viewers.
“You might have seen that graphic right there. This is Halloween week, by the way,” Nantz said. “So Brock Purdy was dressed up as Sam Darnold right there in that graphic.”
"You might have seen that graphic right there. This is Halloween week, by the way. So Brock Purdy was dressed up as Sam Darnold right there in that graphic."
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 29, 2023
Jim Nantz with the smooth save. pic.twitter.com/nYjdHv5BbY
Nantz also could have let the mistake go but respected the audience enough to admit that an error had been made.
That prevented any viewers from briefly wondering if the 49ers quarterback they watched in the first half was Darnold. But Nantz fulfilled his responsibility as a broadcaster, quickly making it clear that their perception was, in fact, correct.
