Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Brandon Allen didn’t do enough to be among the few positives in the 49ers’ dreadful 38-10 road loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, but head coach Kyle Shanahan and tight end George Kittle found enough positives in the veteran quarterback’s performance to give him some words of encouragement after the game.

Allen, who made his first start as a member of the then-49ers Brock Purdy sat out with a shoulder injury, finished with 199 yards, one touchdown, one interception and two fumbles on 17-of-29 passing. Allen has been with the 49ers since signing with them before the 2023 season, but Sunday marked his first start since his time with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021. The loss brought Allen, 32, to 2-8 as an NFL starter.

“We all got embarrassed, so no one played that well,” Shanahan said. “But I thought he did some good things.”

The 49ers’ offense was nonexistent early as the Packers took a 17-0 lead in the first half, but Allen managed to guide the 49ers to a late halftime field goal that cut the lead to 17-7 at halftime. . There was another score for the 49ers in the third quarter that ended in a field goal, but Allen also had two costly turnovers in the second half with his interception and a lost fumble on a strip sack, both of which resulted in to Packers touchdowns. .

“I thought he made some big throws,” Shanahan said. “Just the plays I can think of, he had a tough one early that he threw to them, they gave up. Two plays he just slipped on that field that hurt us. But I thought Brandon had made some big throws and all that and gave us a chance.”

Allen’s lone touchdown came to Kittle, who was among the 49ers’ positives Sunday with six catches for 82 yards. More than one of those catches were scoring plays, including the touchdown, which came on a jump catch, and a third-quarter grab where he made a mid-turn grab to help put the 49ers up position to get their cart.

Kittle had nothing but positive things to say about Allen after the game.

“I thought Brandon was great,” Kittle said. “He was good in the group. He spoke loud and clear, which is really good for us. And he made some really good passes.”

Regarding his rotational catching, Kittle said: “It’s something we rarely practice…When he sees you one-on-one, he’s just going to give you an opportunity, which I really respect from him. I Definitely didn’t see it. The back shoulder ball was coming, it wasn’t something he practiced by any means, but he gave me a chance, which was fun.

Purdy might be back on the field next week when the 49ers travel to Buffalo to face the Bills on Sunday Night Football. If he isn’t, Allen could get the nod again. Regardless, the 49ers will need a much better overall effort on both sides of the ball to succeed in this game, but Kittle would at least remain confident if Allen was under center once again.

“I thought he played really well, you know,” Kittle said. “And I think our running game needs to be better so we can help it a little bit. And again, we had so many penalties all over the field, which is really, really hard to win football games like this one.”

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