The San Francisco 49ers’ Divisional Round playoff game with the Green Bay Packers will be Brock Purdy’s first outing for nearly three weeks.

San Francisco’s starting quarterback was rested in Week 18 after the Niners clinched the one seed in Week 17 and then had the benefit of a first-round bye.

One of the main challenges for him as he returns to action following a beneficial break will be avoiding rustiness in a situation where he is under huge pressure to deliver and keep the 49ers’ Super Bowl hopes firmly intact.

Peyton's praise

The Niners are now the overwhelming favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl following the playoff exits of the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. Given Purdy’s struggles in the 49ers’ last primetime game against the Baltimore Ravens, it would be fair to have concerns about his ability to rise to the challenge under the lights against the Packers.

Yet the reason to have confidence in Purdy avoiding rust and thriving on his return was laid out last week by Peyton Manning on an appearance on the ‘This is Football’ podcast.

Explaining why head coach Kyle Shanahan is the coach he would most like to play for if he was still in the league, Manning said: "You can just tell Brock Purdy is mentally stimulated every single Sunday. 

"You want to come to work every single day and say, ‘Wow, what’s going to be in the offense today?… Deebo (Samuel) is going to be wide open on this play.' I can tell Kyle’s calling plays where he’s telling Purdy, ‘Hey, just trust me, (George) Kittle is going to be wide open on this play.’ That’s a fun offense to play in."

While Purdy has had a long time without a game, he has also had significant time to go over film with Shanahan and the offensive coaching staff and look at the plays that are going to put him in the best position to succeed in the postseason.

And with the Packers confirmed as their opponent, Shanahan has now had the opportunity to draw up a gameplan for a defense that, despite its success against the Cowboys, figures to be extremely vulnerable to the 49er offense.

A favorable matchup

The Green Bay defense finished the regular season 23rd in the NFL by Expected Points Added per play and 27th by DVOA.

With a long time to prepare, Shanahan should have plenty of plays on which receivers will be expected to be wide open already written into the gameplan, maximizing Purdy's chances of excelling in his fourth career playoff game.

Purdy, of course, had no problem with rust at the start of the season, returning from a long lay-off after offseason elbow surgery and leading the 49ers to a 5-0 start. 

Throughout that run and the duration of a season in which Purdy was at one point seemingly on the cusp of the MVP award, the Niners' signal-caller has faced accusations he is a 'system quarterback' who is purely a product of Shanahan's scheme.

He addressed such assessments in a recent interview with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Purdy said: 

"Everyone can have their opinion on that. But for myself, for my teammates, I guess we sort of know the truth because literally we’re playing and we’re making plays and doing it really every Sunday. And so we know the truth. It’s not something I look at and get mad about or angry. People can think what they think. If you’re really watching the games, it [an ability to go off-script] shows up from time to time. And the other part of that is, I sort of take it as a compliment. Being a game manager and a system quarterback, I feel like if you can do that well, and be consistent in that, you’re going to win games by doing that."

Talk of Purdy simply being a game manager does a disservice to a quarterback who has consistently made plays out of structure and who led the NFL in completion percentage (57.9) and passer rating (142.0) on throws of 21 air yards or more in the regular season.

Purdy has done an excellent job of elevating the 49er offense by making off-script plays and pushing the ball downfield with much greater regularity and success than predecessor Jimmy Garoppolo.

He is not a system quarterback, however, it is the benefits of the system that Manning laid out that are Purdy's best weapon against rust in a playoff campaign that could be a defining one in his career.

49ers star named as breakout player for 2023 season

There’s no denying it.