Can the 49ers with Brock Purdy win the Super Bowl?
First of all, could they even make it to the Super Bowl with Purdy?
We'll find out the answer to the second question next week when either the Lions or the Buccaneers head to Santa Clara, Calif., to knock off the No. 1 seed in the NFC. What we know for sure is that on Saturday night, the 49ers came off the mat multiple times to catch up and eventually outrun the upstart Packers, with a final gasp drive that put the Niners up 24-2. That means we won. This is to avoid a major upset at Levi's Stadium.
And what we need to know is that the 49ers ran with Purdy for a long, long time until he saved his best. They were good enough in the NFC divisional playoff round, but may not be good enough going forward.
For most of the 60 minutes, Purdy looked more like Mr. Irrelevant on his resume than an MVP candidate for the 2023 season. At times, operating in the pouring rain, he seemed to barely have control over the wet football with his gloved and ungloved right hands. At times, it appeared as though Purdy was responsible for leading the team to an early playoff exit, with Jordan Love, the Packers' rising star, leading the team forward and upward as a young quarterback.
“We just have to overcome the weather and the football,” Purdy said after the game. “After a while we got into a rhythm. That's on me. Overall, we had to find a way to win and we made it work.”
This became a nightmare until Purdy woke up. When he took over at their own 31-yard line with 6:18 left, the Niners led 21-17. He lost his top receiver, Deebo Samuel, in the first quarter, and the well-oiled machine of the offense he's operated so efficiently over the past few months was rattling along. If Purdy doesn't find answers, the Niners will enter the offseason with a lot of unanswered questions.
Results: Purdy completed 6 of 7 passes for 47 yards. The big strike was Chris Conley's 17-yarder, which was rarely used. He scrambled 9 yards to the Green Bay 6-yard line. From there, he did the smartest thing any quarterback could do. He handed the ball to Christian McCaffrey, who ran the ball into the end zone with 67 seconds left for the winning point. The 49ers survived and barely advanced when Dre Greenlaw intercepted Love in the final moments.
“There's a reason we have four quarters,” Purdy said. “The way it started, it was like, 'Hey, we've got to get better, we've got to play efficient football.' At the end of the day, when you have a season on the line, you've got to make it happen for the boys around you. It won’t.”
Just like that, the 49ers made it to the NFC Championship Game for the fourth time in the past five years. In doing just that, coach Kyle Shanahan accomplished something no head coach had ever done before. When they led by more than five points entering the fourth quarter, they were 0-30. The 49ers entered the fourth quarter down 21-14.
Purdy completed 23-of-39 for 252 yards and one touchdown pass, including a 32-yard strike to tight end George Kittle to give the 49ers a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. But this playoff run has largely been a struggle for Purdy, who feels like an outlier in some ways.
Heading into this weekend, the Quarterback Elite Eight had a little bit of everything. A proven champion (Patrick Mahomes). Dynamic MVP candidate (Lamar Jackson). A dynamic player (Josh Allen) who is a future MVP candidate. A charming rookie (CJ Stroud). Two former No. 1 picks (Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield) are looking to do well with their new teams. A rising star (Jordan Love).
What do these seven quarterbacks have in common? They were all first-round draft picks. Purdy was the 262nd, seventh-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Purdy's second pass of the game should have been a pick-six. Purdy hit safety Darnell Savage between the numbers and dropped the interception. Purdy shook his head and realized he was lucky not to put his team in a 10-0 hole.
“Sometimes everyone was off,” Shanahan said. “Brock made some big plays in this game, made some mistakes, but he led us in the final drive and got the win, and that's all you can ask for.”
Is that all you can ask for?
Purdy now leads the Niners to three playoff wins, becoming the fifth quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game in each of his first two seasons. He could live another day, but it would probably be better than this.
