The San Francisco 49ers were in a tough spot against the visiting Miami Dolphins in Week 13. Starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo went down early with an injury to his foot that will ultimately keep him out of the lineup for the remainder of the season.
Keeping up with the explosive Dolphins’ offense is no easy task even when at full strength; now the 49ers were going to have to do it with Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy. Purdy was the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Iowa State and it was anyone’s guess what he would be able to give this offense. It turns out, he could more than hold his own.
Purdy ended up completing 25-of-37 attempts for 210 yards, throwing two touchdowns with one interception. It was an excellent relief appearance for Purdy who handled himself well in a tough spot.
But, with some film now available on him, things could get tougher. Purdy will now take all of the first-team reps this week in preparation for his first career start. He is being thrown right into the fire as he will face off with the GOAT, Tom Brady, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 14.
If history is any indication, this is going to be a tough game for Purdy and the 49ers. There have been six other instances that a rookie has made their first career start against Brady. None of those players found any success as Brady is 6-0 against them.
However, the one caveat in this week’s upcoming matchup is that Purdy and the 49ers are favorites. All of the other rookies that Brady faced off with were sizable underdogs as Jake Locker and the Tennessee Titans were the only team that wasn’t a double-digit point underdog heading into the game.
Purdy has arguably the best defense in the league behind him, so that will certainly help as the 49ers look to push their winning streak to six games. While they will never underestimate a Brady-led team, as he had another huge comeback on Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints this week, San Francisco could suffer from looking ahead a little bit.
In Week 15, the 49ers will be traveling to take on the Seattle Seahawks in a matchup that will have major playoff implications. The winner of that game could be in the driver’s seat for the NFC West title while the loser could be on the outside looking in of the playoff picture in the conference.
