Ready, ready, ready…
It by no means occurred.
When you thought Brock Purdy would moist his pants throughout his first NFL playoff sport, simply carry on ready. Purdy, the primary rookie quarterback in San Francisco 49ers historical past to start out a postseason sport, performed with the poise you’d anticipate from the legendary Joe Montana in carving up the Seattle Seahawks within the NFC wild-card matchup at soggy Levi’s Stadium.
Don’t simply take it from me. Try the love from LeBron James:
“PURDY GOT GAME!!!!!!!!!!” the NBA megastar tweeted.
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“LeBron stated that?” Purdy responded when alerted throughout his postgame press convention. “That’s candy. That’s superior. That’s so cool.”
Purdy, 23, handed for 332 yards and set an NFL report throughout the 41-23 blowout by turning into the primary rookie quarterback to account for 4 touchdowns – three passing and a sneak – whereas additional advancing his Cinderella journey to stardom.
The playoff win was the 49ers’ sixth in a row for the reason that final participant drafted in April was inserted into the beginning lineup after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a foot harm in Week 13.
What nerves? For the entire win-or-go-home stress and higher competitors that postseason brings, nobody was extra composed than the “Brock Star.” He didn’t commit a turnover and posted a 131.5 effectivity score because the 49ers (14-4) received their eleventh consecutive sport.
Purdy undoubtedly knew the stakes and felt the emotion constructing earlier than kickoff.
Then the sport got here. On his first move, the moist soccer slipped out of his hand and sailed away.
That was as unhealthy because it obtained.
“As soon as the sport began, it was 11-on-11,” Purdy instructed reporters. “I’ve obtained to do my job, get it to the blokes after they get in area and go from there. We didn’t make it greater than it was.
“It wasn’t, ‘Oh, my gosh, we’re within the playoffs. We’ve obtained to get all tense.’ We simply must play our sport and let every thing else fall into place.”
Nothing appeared to faze the baby-faced child who seems like an ID examine ready to occur. He ran Kyle Shanahan’s versatile offense with aplomb, which implies getting the soccer into the palms of Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and others.
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When it didn’t go precisely as designed, that’s when Purdy obtained inventive, utilizing his legs and soccer savvy to spin out of would-be sacks and switch damaged performs into spotlight clips along with his elite scrambling. His 7-yard TD toss to Elijah Mitchell within the fourth quarter was simply that as he emerged out of a spin to seek out Mitchell floating alone within the flat.
Mitchell was the final learn for that actual goal.
Or, as Purdy put it, “Elijah was the place he wanted to be.”
Shanahan has proven great confidence in his rookie, evidenced by the load he has placed on Purdy within the passing sport from the second Jimmy G. went down, weeks after opening-day starter Trey Lance was misplaced for the season. Purdy threw 30 passes whereas the 49ers logged 33 dashing makes an attempt. Steadiness is the ticket, notably when a prolific offense has so many weapons.
But the coach may get a bit nervous about his rookie when Purdy is compelled to go off-script to increase performs.
“He’s obtained a really feel for it,” Shanahan stated. “He undoubtedly makes me nervous. He does job getting away. He is aware of his physique. He by no means tries to surrender on a play.”
Even higher, Shanahan concluded, “He’s been very sensible with the ball.”
No, Purdy isn’t excellent. With the Seahawks holding a 17-16 halftime lead, Purdy stated that Shanahan gave him a pointed reminder within the locker room that stemmed from the lone sack that the quarterback suffered. He stated he regarded for Kittle over the center however held onto the ball fairly than reacting rapidly.
Shanahan instructed him, “We simply must maintain it easy and get it to our guys.”
After halftime, the 49ers broke the sport open by scoring TDs on every of their first three possessions.
Purdy, who began 46 video games at Iowa State and was twice named first crew All-Large 12, clearly belongs on the NFL stage, even with the highlight intensifying throughout the playoffs.
Certain, the assessments will get more durable because the 49ers advance. However with Purdy acing each take a look at but, there’s no purpose to query whether or not the deep, balanced 49ers can nonetheless contend for a Tremendous Bowl 57 crown with a rookie on the sport’s most vital place.
It’s humorous now: Because the final participant drafted, Purdy was dubbed “Mr. Irrelevant,” a distinction that comes full with an annual parade in Southern California in that participant’s honor. On the ultimate day of the draft, nobody would have imagined that Purdy can be on this spot of quarterbacking the most well liked crew within the NFL within the playoffs.
But right here’s Purdy, a lot related with the subsequent stage occurring within the divisional playoffs.
As LeBron reminded his 52 million followers on Twitter, Purdy’s obtained some severe sport.
