Brock Purdy's everlasting calm will be critical to 49ers QB's Eagles acid test
Both the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles have done an excellent job of ignoring the noise as they prepare for the rematch of their NFC Championship Game encounter from last year. For one of the primary characters in the main event of Sunday's Week 13 slate, the noise around his imminent return to Lincoln […]
Both the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles have done an excellent job of ignoring the noise as they prepare for the rematch of their NFC Championship Game encounter from last year.
For one of the primary characters in the main event of Sunday's Week 13 slate, the noise around his imminent return to Lincoln Financial Field has been particularly loud.
Brock Purdy was removed from his role as one the chief protagonists in the title game after just one offensive series, which saw him suffer a torn Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) in his elbow, with backup Josh Johnson's subsequent concussion ending all hope of a San Francisco victory.
Purdy required surgery to repair that ligament, making his performances since returning all the more impressive. The noise has been incessant, the last pick in the 2022 draft built up as an MVP candidate then torn down during a three-game losing streak defined in part by his late-game turnovers before he resumed normal service following their bye and helped the Niners to three wins on the spin.
Through it all, Purdy has remained the same level-headed quarterback he has been since being unexpectedly thrust into the limelight in Week 13 last season following the injury to Jimmy Garoppolo that catapulted him into the starting role for NFC powerhouse.
No room for sentiment
It shouldn't be much of a surprise then that Purdy has maintained the same demeanor as the 49ers prepare to renew acquaintances with their chief rival to be the NFC's representative in Super Bowl 58 at the scene of his injury.
"I mean, yeah I got hurt there and everything, but for me it’s Week 13, we’re going on the road in a hostile environment," Purdy said in a press conference on Thursday. "We’re late in the season, so every game is obviously big for us. So that’s where I’m at with my mindset. Am I going to go back and feel a certain way? None of that. It’s a new year, two new teams, slightly different in ways. So that’s how I’m looking at it.
"Usually every single game whenever I go in the stadium, yeah, I take a little moment just to be thankful for where I’m at and the game that I’m about to play in. So none of that changes. Am I going to go in there and get all sentimental about, ‘man, I’ve come a long way since’? It’s not really like that.
"We have a goal in mind and I’m trying to be the best version of myself every week. So, am I going to go into the game saying I want revenge and all this kind of stuff? It’s not like that, so I’m just going to try to go do my job and be the best Brock that I can be for this team."
Clear and considerable progress
While Purdy's overall mindset may not have changed, he acknowledges he has grown significantly as a player on the field since authoring one of the most unlikely stories recent NFL history by reeling off seven straight wins as a starter down the stretch and through the playoffs.
"I think I’ve grown just mentally with this playbook, with the system, with just the guys that I’m playing with in terms of them knowing what they’re going to get from me," added Purdy. "I feel like at the time [of his playoff start in Philadelphia], I was still trying to find my way in the NFL and play consistent and prove to the guys that I can play.
"Now it’s all about how can I be consistent, every single drive, every game and sort of being able to handle all the factors that come with playing quarterback, the noises, keeping guys calm, cool, collected, like that kind of stuff. So, I feel like in that game, or at that time, I don’t know if I was that guy yet. I feel like that’s a difference."
That difference has resulted in Purdy being the top quarterback in the NFL by most statistical measures. He leads the NFL in completion percentage and passer rating as well as all the yards per attempt categories. On top of that, he entered Week 13 first in passing DVOA and DYAR and remains the top quarterback by Expected Points Added per play.
Deep ball success
The numbers that are most reflective of his development are his deep ball passing statistics. Purdy is third in the NFL with 48 completions of at least 20 yards, while only C.J. Stroud (143.3) has a superior passer rating on throws of 21 air yards or more than Purdy's 139.7. Stroud and Tua Tagovailoa are the two quarterbacks with a higher completion percentage of those passes than Purdy's 55.2.
Purdy's struggles protecting the ball during that pre-bye slump ensured he will still have his doubters, but the combination of his mindset and the strides he has clearly taken since last year have allowed him to recover spectacularly from that blip.
With over a full season of starts, if you include the two playoff games he started and finished, under his belt, Purdy should be significantly better prepared to handle the challenge he never really got the chance to overcome back in January.
The 49ers won't change their opinion of a quarterback they firmly believe is their long-term answer on the basis of one game. However, for so many, the test of going on the road against the 10-1 Eagles in an extremely hostile environment in a game the 49ers are favored to win will be the ideal barometer of who Purdy is as a quarterback at this early point in his career.
San Francisco's rematch with the Eagles carries outsized significance in both the NFC playoff picture and how a large section of the football world will view Purdy. Thankfully for the 49ers and their starting quarterback, it is clear Purdy won't be attaching any added meaning to his national stage litmus test, and that makes him more likely to come through it successfully.
Final 49ers injury report for Week 13, at Eagles
Good news mainly.
