If it wasn’t already clear, the 49ers’ championship aspirations are in the hands of rookie quarterback Brock Purdy.
With rainy weather and pressure mounting for Purdy’s first career playoff game, those waiting for the 262nd pick Whoever the pick eventually falters becomes hopeless. The QB kept his best stats for his most important Test to date, overcoming a shaky start with 18 of 30 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns, plus a 41-23 win in San Francisco Wild-card win over the Seahawks on Saturday.
“As a rookie, what do you say about the way he goes out and plays,” 49ers guard Fred Warner told NFL Network’s Steve Wych after the game. “I’ve never seen it in my life. I don’t know if anyone has played like that. Late in the season, he’s the guy people should be talking about. Forget everything else. He’s the guy right now. Take one after another and play team football.”
Purdy, Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot in Week 13 and continued with a rock-solid 1,374 passing yards, After finishing the regular season with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions, the nerves finally flashed in the first half Saturday.
He missed his first four attempts in three games, including a dribble pass to no one to start San Francisco’s first offensive series and a bad throw to open Jauan Jennings in the end zone. His uncharacteristic inaccuracy hampered the offense, leading to field goals, not touchdowns.
Scored only three runs on long drives, largely due to Purdy’s pitch placement, became a common restraint The Niners scored 16 points in the first half, three of five possessions Ended with a goal.
The 49ers struggled to separate and trailed entering the half, 17-16.
When they caught the ball to open the second half, Purdy, who had multiple touchdowns in six straight games, rewrote the narrative and regained the lead.
“He’s the reason we had a chance in the whole thing,” Warner said. “The way he’s come in. Composure, confidence, he’s been amazing week in and week out. We need him to be good in the second half. That’s the most important thing. It’s going to be tough along the way, but (it) is how you’re going to Tough time performance?”
Purdy quarterback 13 games, 75 yards throwing and a healthy throwing mix, Christian McCaffrey runs and keeps himself — he Sneaked off the play from the 1-yard line.
The score started 25 scoreless, taking a once-close game away from arrival. Two forced turnovers by the defense and a 74-yard monster TD assist by Deebo Samuel, including a 66-yard catch.
This is similar to the help Garoppolo received during his four-game winning streak before breaking his foot against Miami in Week 13 Types of. But Purdy adds some evasion and boldness not previously seen in Garoppolo’s repertoire.
He showed it on another TD pass to Elijah Mitchell in the second half, as Purdy scrambled to the left, then spun right away from both defenders to find his Wide open RB walk-in fraction. According to Next Gen Stats, Purdy gave himself 5.04 seconds to put in the game.
He fought for longer on third down on the 49ers final hit and hit a perfect scoring pass to Brandon Aiyuk in the corner of the end zone, but received The golfer couldn’t hold on. The offense ended with another Robbie Gould field goal, only this time Purdy acted like he was halfway through.
“Obviously in that situation I have to be smarter about passing the ball if the first one doesn’t read it, rather than doing all the extra stuff,” Purdy criticized after the game He said during his near-highlight performance. “I feel like it’s just one of those situations, man, if we get one more touchdown, it’s going to put the nail in the coffin. Also field goal is just as good. So, it’s something I’ve got to be smart with, you know, if It’s not there, throw it away.”
His head coach, Kyle Shanahan, was even more effusive in his comments.
“It was unbelievable that he threw the ball to BA in the corner,” Shanahan said. “I know he just misses, but, you know, he feels about it. He does make me nervous, but he does a good job of running away. He knows his body. He’s there. You can tell How close he is to those guys. He’s trying to never give up the game, and he’s been really smart with the ball so far, so I appreciate that.”
All in all, Purdy is great The postseason pressure and tough first half responded by becoming the first rookie QB in NFL history with four TDs in a playoff game.
“It felt that way from the beginning,” Shanahan told reporters about the trust in Purdy. “You know, once he played (Week 13) against Miami. We didn’t have the luxury of sitting there worrying about things, how the game was played. We just had to call in and try to win the game, and he did a fantastic job, He’s done it every time since, so we have a lot of confidence in him. He’s giving us more and more confidence every week.”
Purdy and Co. That confidence will be tested in the conference playoffs. The rookie is three wins away from the Niners’ first Super Bowl title since the 1995 season.
