After facing adversity during a difficult three-game stretch for the first time in his NFL career, Brock Purdy has stood out in the 49ers’ last two victories over the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The young quarterback attributes San Francisco’s resurgent performance in recent weeks to a mentality shift, returning to an underdog mentality to prove he can carry the team forward.
“I was more upset about it, not even that we were complacent or anything, but almost like we just go into the game and it’s kind of handed to us,” Purdy said after the 49ers’ Game 27-14 -Victory over the Buccaneers on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. “I had to come back, man, we have to do it. We have to earn it in every single game. It doesn’t matter who we play, it’s the NFL. Anything can happen.” every Sunday.
“And that’s the highlight [on my shoulder] what I talked about. And then I come back to it and prove every ride, every game that I can be the guy for this team, and I have to earn that every week in practice, in meetings, whatever it may be. So that’s the mindset of what I’ve been talking about, and yeah, definitely more focused on detailing the last few weeks and finding the chip again.”
Purdy certainly proved he can be “the guy” for San Francisco with his Week 11 win, joining 49ers legends Joe Montana and Steve Young as the only quarterbacks in franchise history to have one achieved a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Additionally, Purdy is the only 49ers quarterback to do this while throwing 20 or more pass attempts.
Not too shabby for a guy who was selected last by the 49ers in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Purdy’s teammate Christian McCaffrey is enjoying watching the quarterback play with some fire underneath him and told reporters in the locker room after Sunday’s win that he hopes the haters keep coming.
And even during the 49ers’ three-game losing streak in Weeks 6-8, in which Purdy was plagued by late-game interceptions, coach Kyle Shanahan’s confidence in the 23-year-old never wavered. Shanahan, despite a few critical errors, still liked what he saw from Purdy on tape — something he reiterated after the signal-caller’s big play against Tampa Bay.
“You never know until people go through it, but I mean, the film was so good,” Shanahan said of the potential for Purdy to get timid after throwing the picks. “The guy played incredible in those three losses, so there was no reason to worry. You just have to make sure he doesn’t make up what other people are making up. So you just try to get him to stick with it.” Practice, stick with the film and do what you do. He had a few bad picks in those games, but there wasn’t one where he felt like he had to change his approach because he played at such a high level in those losses, too.”
The 49ers are now 7-3 on the season and heading into a tough three-game matchup with big implications for the NFL playoffs in the coming weeks. They travel to Seattle to face the 6-4 Seahawks on Thanksgiving, then return to Lincoln Financial Field in Week 13 for an NFC Championship rematch against the conference’s No. 1 seed Philadelphia Eagles There is another game against Seattle at Levi’s Stadium in December. 10.
And Purdy, who has done more than enough to prove himself as the 49ers’ starting quarterback, will be ready – starting in Week 12 against San Francisco’s longtime rival.
“Yes, we are at the point in the season where obviously every single game is crucial. “It’s huge,” Purdy said. “And going into a hostile environment in Seattle with the great team they have is going to be a big challenge for us and we’re looking forward to it.” Obviously the history of these two organizations goes back, and the opportunity to play against on Thanksgiving Being able to play them with the division they are in can’t be better.
“I look forward to it.”
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