Within a few months, Brock Purdy went from nobody to star. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback broke records and saved a season that was thought to be lost - in the process he was written off by everyone for a long time. But the 23-year-old still has a long way to go to become a superstar.
The moment that is to change Brock Purdy's life forever seems at first to be no less than a catastrophe for the San Francisco 49ers: in early December against the Miami Dolphins, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo broke his right foot after less than five minutes of the game , fails for months. For the 49ers, Garoppolo's failure is absolutely bad news. At the beginning of the season he had to take over from the savior Trey Lance, who was actually hoping for, after he broke his leg.
San Francisco's new starter will be Brock Purdy. A league freshman with an impressive-sounding name, but one that was picked last in the pre-season draft. Mr. Irrelevant. His average height for quarterbacks (1.85 meters) and his relatively small hands are interpreted as weaknesses in the draft. Purdy was "not a very good athlete," it was said at the time, and he had deficits "in terms of both strength and throwing repertoire."
At 49ers training camp, he serves as backup of backup of backup behind Lance, Garoppolo and Nate Sudfeld. However, the scouting report also states that Purdy, who was a four-year starter at college, appears very mature and experienced. And so the 23-year-old has a significant influence on the success of his team instead of remaining unimportant. And the big success at the end of the season, the Super Bowl, which only the biggest optimists in the 49ers fan base believed in at the time of Garoppolo's injury, is realistic again.
Of course, in the NFL, which loves nothing more than a good Hollywood story, thoughts of a late-draft quarterback replacing an injured colleague and leading his team to success inevitably end up with Tom Brady. Drafted 199th in the sixth of seven rounds by the New England Patriots in 2000, the then-rookie led his team to the championship in just his second season. In his first season, Brady was only allowed to play for a few minutes in a single game, but then quarterback Drew Bledsoe was injured in the second game of the season in 2001, and the future megastar took over.
After the Patriots started the year with two bankruptcies, Brady celebrated a win in his first game as a starter - of all things against the Indianapolis Colts with one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, Peyton Manning. Fittingly, just a week after Garoppolo's serious injury, Purdy dismantled Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-7. The rookie quarterback brings more than 76 percent of his passes to his teammates - an excellent value.
Further comparisons lag. But what Purdy shows in the remaining games of the season (five wins) is impressive. The 23-year-old throws at least two touchdown passes in every game, he always brings at least 60 percent of his balls to the teammate and never throws more than one interception. San Francisco scores 37 points or more in four of the five games. "It feels like a party out there, honestly," tight end George Kittle describes the mood on the field. Everything is possible, so suddenly the motto of Kittle and his teammates. "When the mood is good, then this team is unstoppable."
Even in the playoffs, in which defenses are traditionally better and the conditions for quarterbacks harder, the Purdy hypetrain does not come to a halt: In the wild card round against the Seattle Seahawks, the rookie even plays his statistically best game ever. In the playoff quarterfinals against the Dallas Cowboys, he then has a hard time and often jumps out of the protective pocket too early due to the high pressure from the Cowboys. Sometimes he misses several opportunities for big moves with his somewhat too hasty and sometimes too hesitant play. But in the end, the quarterback stays calm, avoids serious mistakes and does enough to get his eighth win in eight games.
"He's doing it really unbelievably," coach Kyle Shanahan expressly praised his protégé after the game. "Taking care of the ball as well as he does and still making so many plays is definitely what impressed me the most." However, Shanahan is not completely uninvolved in the success of his young quarterback - on the contrary: Purdy himself benefits enormously from his coach's outstanding moves in his game.
For years, Shanahan has been one of the top play callers and play designers in the league. Over the past three seasons, only superstar quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers have played statistically more effectively than Garoppolo - without Garoppolo ever having remotely matched the elite skills of the trio. Shanahan makes it possible. The mastermind's secret to success: Passes across the middle of the field. Historically, this type of pass has been the easiest and most comfortable for a quarterback.
Coach Shanahan created this quarterback-friendly system, but that doesn't necessarily detract from Purdy's accomplishments. "You can be as quarterback-friendly as you want," NFL analyst Michael Irvin said of the rookie in a radio interview on "95.7 The Game." "We can't steal his credit for what he did."
Purdy usually remains remarkably calm under pressure for his young age and little experience; his 88.1 rating under pressure is fourth best in the NFL. He's not particularly quick when it comes to getting rid of the ball, but he's strong on play action and remarkably efficient at finding receivers between 10 and 19 yards downfield.
But of course Purdy has many pillars of support around him in the strong team of the 49ers. Shanahan moves receivers around the field before and during plays in a way that opens up particularly convenient passing windows. San Francisco also signed Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers a few months ago. He's perhaps the best pass receiver among running backs in the league and was able to make the Niners' pass offense even more flexible. The respective opponent now has to take the running game of the 49ers even more seriously because of him and can no longer cover the throws so well through the middle.
Championships in American football are usually decided on offense thanks to the prominent position of the quarterback. This includes the offensive line. The 49ers learned this the hard way from their last two playoff losses. Strong defenses broke through the fragile O-Line in the hot phase of the 2019 and 2021 seasons. This year the team comes around the corner with a much improved offensive line. "She's gotten so much better," Kittle says of the 49ers line. "One thing we've been blessed with all year is a healthy O-Line." A big advantage for Purdy, who now has more time to implement his moves. Additionally, the rookie has the best defense in the league, which allowed just 3.4 yards per rush play in the regular season.
Brady also had a lot of help with his breakthrough. That was badly needed at the time, because the newcomer threw twelve interceptions with 18 touchdowns in his first season. Brady did get two game-winning drives in the playoffs, but in the end it was a terrific defensive end in 2001-02, running back Antowain Smith (gained for 1,100 yards in the regular season) and ever-safe kicker Adam Vinatieri. who made the victory in the Super Bowl perfect.
Purdy is well aware of his merits: "Kyle designs a great game plan, I just read the field, throw the ball briefly to Deebo (Samuel; d. Red) and Christian and then they let defenders get out," he says. "It's great for me. I just have to distribute the ball and they take care of the yards and all that stuff. It's fun to watch."
Whether he eventually becomes a new Brady or not, of the four quarterbacks remaining in the playoffs, he is initially the weakest: There are a few areas where Purdy still needs to improve when the 49ers in the evening (9 p.m. / Pro7 and DAZN) First of all, they want to be successful against the Philadelphia Eagles, who have been extremely dominant on both sides of the ball this season. San Francisco faces its toughest task yet if it seeks to slow down Philadelphia's high-octane attack -- led by MVP candidate quarterback Jalen Hurts, his dangerous runs, tremendous playmaking ability (22 touchdowns and just eight regular-season interceptions) and perhaps the best Offensive line of the game centered around All-Pro center Jason Kelce.
Then maybe at some point, Brock Purdy should actually win the Super Bowl this year and lead his teams to success in the years to come, and only then can the 23-year-old be compared to the great Tom Brady again. Until then, the history books only belong to the 22-year-old quarterback, who will probably distribute balls in the NFL for a year longer. So far, Purdy has only been in it as the Mr. Irrelevant, who threw the first touchdown in league history. Despite supposedly too small hands and weak arms. With a victory over the Eagles, he could at least write a first small milestone chapter: Never in the history of the league has a quarterback been able to move into the Super Bowl in his very first year in the NFL.
