Brock Purdy may not have won the Super Bowl, but his performance on the biggest stage against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs earned him deserved praise, and firmly proved a narrative about the 49ers quarterback.
That narrative is about the 49ers’ ability to play from behind. There had been a theory that the Niners, and by extension Purdy, could not do so. That he was only comfortable with being a frontrunner.
Yet three times during the fourth quarter and overtime of the Super Bowl, Purdy had the ball with the chance to give the 49ers the lead. On each occasion, he succeeded.
Though the touchdown drive, which was followed by a blocked extra point, and two field goal drives were not enough to propel the Niners to victory, Purdy’s efforts in those situations were highly impressive.
And they followed Purdy producing two comebacks in the 49ers’ divisional round win over the Green Bay Packers and NFC Championship Game victory over the Detroit Lions, the Niners overturning a 17-point deficit in the latter.
With two playoff campaigns under his belt, Purdy has a passer rating of 104.9 on throws in the fourth quarter or overtime of a playoff game with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Among quarterbacks with at least 10 such throws in their career, that puts him tied third with Aaron Rodgers, behind only Case Keenum (124.6) and Mahomes (115.3).
In other words, when Purdy has been under the biggest pressure to deliver and under the most intense spotlights, he has risen to the occasion and performed at a level superior to many of the greatest quarterbacks of the modern era.
Seemingly unfazed by any situation, Purdy has proven he has both the ability and the mettle to be the Niners’ franchise quarterback.
He did not bring home a sixth Lombardi Trophy for the 49ers, but Purdy’s displays in the postseason should have removed most of the lingering doubts about a quarterback nobody saw coming.
