SANTA CLARA, Calif. − Brock Purdy threw the big pass − overthrew it, actually − that resulted in the miracle, 51-yard catch by Brandon Aiyuk that was the signature moment of the huge second-half comeback that sent the San Francisco 49ers to another Super Bowl. Yet amid the celebration that followed the NFC title game triumph, there was just as much buzz about the legs of the highly-scrutinized quarterback.
‘Sick!’ is how 49ers tight end George Kittle began his assessment.
Purdy ripped off two desperate scrambles, both for 21 yards and both leading to touchdowns during a frantic rally from a 17-point deficit.
They were not textbook runs in the classic sense. This was a man who spotted an opening and ran for his life, diving rather than sliding to move the chains when his team needed it the most. And then the 49er Faithful holding their collective breath at Levi’s Stadium could exhale. In that sense, it was textbook Purdy. Just watch rather than try to emulate the form … and know that it achieved the in-the-moment mission.
‘Do it more,’ Kittle continued, recalling his thought process as Purdy delivered in crunch time. ‘Just don’t get hit. Scramble. Maybe tuck the ball a little faster. He scampers. I think that’s the best way to describe it.’
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Then Kittle paused briefly at the podium as a comparison popped into his mind.
‘You ever see one of those little water dragons run across the water?’ Kittle said. ‘That’s what I envision every time he’s running with the football.’
A few minutes earlier, former 49ers guard Guy McIntyre, who blocked for Super Bowl heroes Joe Montana and Steve Young, shook his head as he stood outside the locker room marveling over Purdy.
‘Remember that run Steve Young had against the Vikings?’ McIntyre said, alluding to a breathtaking, weaving, 49-yard, game-winning jaunt in 1988 that included Young staggering across the goal line. ‘That’s what he reminded me of.’
How fitting. Purdy has a chance to become the first 49ers quarterback to win a Super Bowl since Young and along the way has prompted a comparison to the man who capped an MVP season by firing six touchdown passes in a Super Bowl XXIX rout.
He should be used to it by now. Purdy is a 49ers quarterback. For a franchise that has won five Lombardi Trophies, there’s a certain standard. And fair or not, the legendary quarterbacks are always such handy reference points.
Granted, Purdy has done enough to make a name for himself rather than to live up to the legends. He set franchise records with 4,280 passing yards and a league-best 113.0 passer rating, and led the 49ers to the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs as the NFL’s ultimate rags-to-riches story. In case you haven’t heard (yeah, right), the Iowa State product was the last player drafted in 2022, earning the ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ title, which is now a joke on the NFL’s scouting process. The knocks that left him undrafted until the end included questions about his arm strength and athleticism.
Look at him now. He’s headed to the Super Bowl in his second season − after sweating it out with comeback victories in each of the 49ers’ two playoff triumphs − with the honor of trying to upstage Patrick Mahomes in what will be the biggest game of his life.
‘I think it’s a testament to God, where he’s taken me in life,’ said Purdy, 25, a four-year starter at Iowa State. ‘I’ve never been the biggest, fastest, strongest, any of that. I feel like I’ve always had to sort of fight for what I get, work for what I get.’
Purdy didn’t hesitate to point to his spiritual foundation as the source that has helped him during the toughest times. His faith helped him deal with getting overlooked in the draft, he insisted. On Sunday night, he spoke to God when trailing by 17 points at halftime.
‘That’s the honest truth,’ he said. ‘I leaned into that. Sure enough, we were able to come back.’
Of course, doubters persist. Purdy may be one of just four quarterbacks to win four playoff games in his first two NFL seasons, but he has been chided as a ‘game manager’ by critics who contend that he’s merely a product of crafty coach Kyle Shanahan’s system. Sure, he’s surrounded by a boatload of talent, including Kittle, Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey, the running back who will likely earn NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Think of all the quarterbacks who would love to ‘manage’ that offense.
‘Brock has always done what we needed him to do for us to win,’ Trent Williams, the 14-year veteran left tackle, told USA TODAY Sports. ‘Whether he has to sit there and throw the ball with a 300-pound lineman coming down and crashing on him; whether he has to bootleg and get to the edge; whether he sits there on third-and-10, dicing people up, he can do it all.’
Williams scoffs at the noise questioning Purdy’s viability.
‘I know he doesn’t get a ton of credit,’ Williams said. ‘He’s low-hanging fruit for a lot of people to pick on, but he’s made the plays all year.’
Still, Purdy seemed to be in line for a fresh batch of criticism as the 49ers avoided being upset by the Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional round. He struggled throwing the wet football as the offense sputtered. Yet he was on-point in crunch time, completing six of seven passes − and scrambling for a nine-yard gain − on the 12-play, 69-yard game-winning touchdown.
Last weekend, he threw an early interception while hit on his release. Then came the second-half rally, when he led the 49ers to scores on five consecutive possessions.
That’s a ‘game manager’ for you. A ‘game manager’ who also happens to win with a style that plays so well with his co-stars.
‘I don’t have enough good things to say about Brock,’ McCaffrey said on Sunday night. ‘All he’s done since he’s been here is play at an elite level. Everything starts with him. We’re lucky he’s our quarterback. He takes a lot of heat for absolutely no reason.’
Which in another vein, undeniably makes him ‘Mr. Relevant.’