The San Francisco 49ers will have to wait another week, bypassing Super Wild Card Weekend since they attained the No. 1 seed in the NFC and earned a first-round bye. They earned that right by being arguably the most talented team in the entire NFL, not to mention a favorite to win the Super Bowl. But even the best teams, like the 49ers, aren't perfect, as there's always a flaw to pick out if you dig deep enough.

The 49ers have fell short in the biggest games

Dating back to 2011, the 49ers have made it to the NFC Championship Game or better in their last six trips to the NFL Playoffs. Two of those earned Super Bowl appearances, yet they were left void of the Lombardi trophy by game's end. Since 2017, when Kyle Shanahan agreed to become the new head coach of the 49ers, he's taken San Francisco to the playoffs three times but has found himself coming up short in big games. Twice it was the conference championship game, with the other being the Super Bowl.

49ers fans can't help but have faith in this year's team, especially as talented as it is from top to bottom, position to position. But they've also seen how talented this team has been before and fell way short of expectations. Granted, some of that has been due to injuries, where no matter how talented the team was, too many of those talents going down derailed any chances for playoff success. This year, that doesn't seem to be the case, as the 49ers are mostly healthy, or at least healthier than last year.

With that said, if the 49ers (12-5) can avoid crucial injuries and Shanahan can stop folding in important games, the 49ers have a shot to make a run back to the Super Bowl. However, there is still one component that still relates to Shanahan that still could cause him criticism, and that's his starting quarterback, Brock Purdy.

Brock Purdy has to protect the ball, not try to do too much

Brock Purdy throwing

It's plain to see that Purdy is going out of his way to prove he is a worthy starting quarterback to lead the 49ers, not to mention one of the best in the NFL. Holding the title of Mr. Irrelevant, the last pick in every year's draft, will put a massive chip on your shoulder. So he hears the critics and their spewing of the mouth about how the reason for his and the 49ers' success is not due to his own talents but the ones surrounding him, even the head coach that supposedly makes it easy for him. He's a pro-bowler nonetheless.

But trying too hard to prove a point can get the 24-year-old in trouble, causing him to make mistakes. It is at least somewhat true that Purdy doesn't have to do too much, and that he is definitely helped by his defense, at the very least. The 49ers have the No. 3 scoring defense in the NFL, averaging 17.5 points per game, according to Fox Sports Stats. With a defense that good, it's not often that Purdy is playing from behind, as it's usually their opponents that are having to do so and focusing on passing the ball to make up points quickly and stay in games.

That was the regular season; this is the playoffs, where everything changes. As good as the 49ers are, they could easily find themselves playing from behind, and therefore that would have the 49ers pushing the ball down the field. That's when Purdy has proven to get rattled.

In the 49ers' 12 wins this season, they are undefeated when not throwing an interception, per SI. However, in four out of their five losses (I'm not counting the regular season loss to the Los Angeles Rams where most starters sat out), they've lost the game. And in three of those four, Purdy has thrown two or more interceptions, with the game against the Baltimore Ravens being his worst, throwing four.

Isn't the key to winning in the playoffs to avoid making mistakes, especially turnovers? A turnover in the regular season, and typically there's hope for another game later, but make one in a win-or-go-home atmosphere, and it could be one of your last games. Shanahan can only script so much to protect Purdy. His playmakers can only make so many plays. Purdy has to protect the ball and trust his playmakers, along with his own decisions.