Brock Purdy shakes off interceptions, delivers 49ers another postseason win over Eagles
The 49ers trailed 19-17 after a 33-yard field goal by Philadelphia’s Jake Elliott Sunday in the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field.
Only 7:55 remained and a wild-card playoff result hung in the balance. Brock Purdy had forced a pair of interceptions, both to Quinyon Mitchell, the second of which led to the field goal that put the 49ers behind.
Even with all the 49ers have done this season despite myriad injuries, social media was buzzing. The nonsensical debate of whether Purdy is “elite” or not again took a backseat to more postseason heroics.
About five minutes of clock time later, Purdy found Christian McCaffrey as his third read for a 4-yard touchdown. The 49ers held defensively — as they did for much of the game — and the defending Super Bowl champions had been vanquished.
“There have been times in my career and growing up, you can start thinking to yourself all the worst possible scenarios,” Purdy said after a 23-19 win over the Eagles. “Just learning from those kinds of things. So when there’s a moment like this, you’ve got to go take it. Be aggressive, be smart and one play at a time.”
The sample size is smaller, but for what it’s worth, Purdy’s playoff win percentage of .714 (5-2) is higher than Joe Montana at .696 (16-7) and Steve Young at .636 (14-8). He is taking the 49ers (13-5) into the divisional round next weekend on the road against Seattle (14-3), with his team’s dream of playing a Super Bowl in its home stadium still alive.
Purdy beat Seattle and Dallas as a rookie, then led the 49ers from behind against Green Bay and Detroit the next season.
The only two postseason losses came when Purdy had his elbow shredded against the Eagles following the 2022 season in the first quarter and in Super Bowl LVIII when he led the 49ers from behind three times but ended up a 25-22 loser in overtime.
He’s confident, he’s clutch and he’ll be the 49ers quarterback for a long, long time. It’s OK to doubt Purdy, because it doesn’t seem to bother him in the least.
With the 49ers’ running game not doing much, it was up to Purdy — and a trick play suggested by offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak — to move the chains and score points against a star-laden Eagles defense that has been very, very good of late.
Jennings threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey on an end-around that was reminiscent of their 21-yard touchdown hook-up in the Super Bowl. It came on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the 49ers a 17-16 lead.
“I was on the edge, sort of blocking, sort of not in the play,” Purdy said. “I see J.J. get hit. And I was like, ‘Dang, dude, should I have done something about that?’ I look up and the ball is in the air, Christian is tracking it, caught it right over the shoulder. I looked back at J.J. and we celebrated.”
Purdy was 18 of 31 for 262 yards with two touchdowns and the two interceptions. Ricky Pearsall Jr. wasn’t healthy enough to play and George Kittle was lost to a torn Achilles. But a legit franchise quarterback can make do with what he’s got, and Purdy did exactly that.
Demarcus Robinson, who hadn’t caught more than 44 yards worth of passes in a game this year, caught six for 111 — including a tone-setting 61-yard gain on the 49ers’ opening drive and a 2-yard touchdown. He shook off the interceptions just like he did the three picks against Carolina earlier this year and other mistakes he’s made as a 49er.
“I’m so impressed because those are two mistakes that he’d love to have back,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “But to play like that on the last drive, he was unbelievable. He kept letting it rip. The guy was not scared to fail at all, which he can’t be to make some of those plays. And they weren’t easy plays. It wasn’t like he was going to No. 1 (receiver) or anything like that. He was going through progressions with a good pass rush.”
Purdy was 5 of 7 on the last drive, during which the 49ers never reached third down. It wasn’t eye-popping statistically but it spoke volumes about his ability to lead. Purdy attributes it to his faith, but it goes further than that.
While Kittle and the linebacker Fred Warner have been identified as the heart and soul of the 49ers, it’s Purdy’s steady and unflinching personality that has become the 49ers’ heartbeat. He’s way too grounded to listen to the hyenas, as criticisms have run the gamut from showing no leadership because he wears his hat backwards on occasion (radio host Colin Cowherd) to having no personality or “aura” (ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio).
On the game-winning touchdown, Purdy guided the 49ers through a play that could have been a problem and turned it into six points.
“We ran that play all week and Brock did a hell of a job going through his progressions and finding me late,” McCaffrey said. “I was going into a flat, ran a little angle route. Those are tough because you’ve got to win within the timing of the play. You don’t know where he is with his progressions. You don’t know if he’s getting a pass rush. But he did an awesome job of stepping up, finding some space and it was wide open.”
The 49ers have done a remarkable job succeeding with the whole “next man up” mentality, but that only happens when your main man is up to the task of lifting his teammates when it matters most.
An All-Star supporting cast helps, but a truly special quarterback lifts his teammates whether the All-Stars are healthy or not.
Purdy has done it both ways, and has the 49ers on the precipice of another NFC Championship Game.