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.
