Some people are waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. The rookie signal-caller is defying all of the odds with his performance this season, coming out of nowhere to become a force for San Francisco.
Brock Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 NFL Draft as the last overall pick. No one could have seen this coming as he wasn’t expected to see the field at all as the third-stringer. But, with injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, he was thrust into the starting lineup.
Around the league, we have seen young quarterbacks, even highly touted ones, struggle. Veterans that went to new teams or had to learn new schemes even had some issues, but Brock Purdy has found nothing but success thus far with the 49ers. Having a loaded roster around him certainly helps, but he deserves a lot of credit for how he has performed.
The stretch that he is on is as shocking as it is impressive. He has yet to lose as a starter, pushing his record to 6-0 as a starter after defeating the Seattle Seahawks in blowout fashion during Super Wild Card weekend.
When players make their postseason debut, sometimes the stage is too big and they will struggle. That is normally amplified for rookies, but Brock Purdy wasn’t phased in the slightest. In fact, he put together a historic performance against Seattle.
Brock Purdy completed 18-of-30 pass attempts for 332 yards, throwing for three touchdowns. He added four rushes for 16 yards and another score on the ground. It was a historic performance by the Iowa State product as he became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history with four total touchdowns in a playoff game, let alone their postseason debut.
Only one other rookie quarterback, Russell Wilson in 2012 with the Seahawks, passed for and ran for a touchdown in the same game in the Super Bowl era. In addition, Brock Purdy led his team to the most points by a rookie starting quarterback in NFL playoff history with 41 points. Skylar Thompson of the Miami Dolphins is second on that list, as he led the team to 31 points on Sunday afternoon.
Scoring has become commonplace for Brock Purdy and the 49ers as he has thrown for multiple touchdowns in each of his appearances this season. He will look to keep that streak alive against the winner of the Dallas Cowboys vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers matchup on Monday Night Football.
