Brock Purdy finds an unexpected way to make the decisive difference for the 49ers in NFC Championship Game
Brock Purdy isn't thought of as athletic, but he can run. In fact, tight end George Kittle has a pretty good descriptor of how the San Francisco 49ers quarterback looks when he puts his foot on the accelerator. "He scampers, you ever see one of those water dragons run across the water? That's what I […]
Brock Purdy isn't thought of as athletic, but he can run. In fact, tight end George Kittle has a pretty good descriptor of how the San Francisco 49ers quarterback looks when he puts his foot on the accelerator.
"He scampers, you ever see one of those water dragons run across the water? That's what I imagine," Kittle said in his postgame press conference after that 'water dragon' authored one of the most famous comebacks in franchise history in the NFC Championship to send the Niners to Super Bowl 58 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
After a first half in which the 49ers were thoroughly outplayed on both sides of the ball by the Detroit Lions, San Francisco trailed 24-7 at the half and looked primed for a third successive defeat at the conference championship stage.
But the 49ers avoided that ignominious fate in remarkable fashion, scoring 27 unanswered second-half points to surge to an incredible 34-31 victory that matched the largest comeback in NFC Championship Game history, also achieved by the Niners against the Atlanta Falcons in 2012.
The catalyst was an amazing and fortuitous 51-yard reception by Brandon Aiyuk in the third quarter on an attempted deep shot from Purdy that deflected off the hands of Kindle Vildor and into the arms of Aiyuk. Three plays later, Purdy connected with Aiyuk again for a six-yard score to cut the deficit to one score.
That set in motion a second half in which Purdy went 13 for 16 for 174 yards along with his touchdown and a passer rating of 132.8.
But the element of Purdy's performance after the half that proved the backbreaker for the Lions defnese was what he did with his legs. Both the game-tying drive and the drive for the ultimately decisive score featured 21-yard scrambles from Purdy, sandwiched by another for 10 yards on the field goal drive that put San Francisco ahead for the first time.
Purdy's skills as a runner consistently allowed him to take advantage of huge voids in the middle of the field created by the Lions playing man coverage. It was his defining trait during a comeback that saw him make plays in and out of the structure of the offense, delivering another message to his many doubters that have questioned his ability to put his team in a position to succeed when everything around him isn't perfect.
Perfectly summing up Purdy's influence as a scrambler, Shanahan told his post-game press conference: "I thought it was the difference between winning and losing. He made some big plays with his legs, getting out of the pocket, moving the chains on some first downs, some explosives.
"He competed his ass off today. Wasn't easy for any of us. He kept grinding, was unbelievable there in the second half."
Shanahan's comments are reflected by the numbers. Purdy, per NextGen Stats, added +10.6 Expected Points Added on scrambles, including the four plays where he scrambled and threw the ball on the run. Without Purdy's prowess on the move, the 49ers do not come back.
Still, there were no such grandiose statements from Purdy when asked about his dual-threat showcase.
"Yeah, I mean, obviously my job is to distribute the ball to guys that are open," said Purdy. "Then if something is not there, especially in this kind of game, you've got to find a way. I feel like throughout my life I've scrambled and stuff here and there. Since I've been here, I feel like I haven't done it a whole lot. Obviously tonight, I was just trying to keep the chains moving, keep the ball moving forward, then obviously give our team some momentum and some juice. I had to do it so I did it,"
The extra playmaking dimension Purdy has provided since taking over from Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13 of last season has continually elevated a 49er offense that didn't have access to such off-schedule plays under his predecessor. His success in doing that when the 49ers' need was at its absolute highest left the star that has arguably played the biggest role in elevating Purdy reflecting how fortunate he is to share the backfield with him.
"Man, I don't have enough good things to say about Brock," said Christian McCaffrey.
"All he's done since he's been here is play at an elite level. Everything starts with him. We're lucky he's our quarterback. He takes a lot of heat for absolutely no reason. All he has done has been a great leader, and been a great player. I'm so proud of him and pumped up that I get another one with him this year."
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