On Saturday during the NFL wild-card playoff contest between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, the weather in California may have been dreary, but Brock Purdy shined like the summertime sun at high noon.
There were some questions about whether the significance of the postseason would be too much for him, or if he would get exposed, especially given the greater preparation and attention to detail teams employ at this time of year.
But at the same time, some others felt Purdy would have no trouble coming through in his playoff debut.
Not only did he come through, but he was very impressive.
After a mediocre first half in terms of his passing accuracy, he sliced and diced the Seahawks’ defense, throwing three touchdown passes and no interceptions in San Francisco’s 41-23 victory.
As he did in his last six regular season games, he showed an amazing ability to escape pressure when forced out of the pocket and still hit his receivers downfield.
In the fourth quarter, he came very close to converting what could’ve turned out to be his most memorable highlight play.
Brandon Aiyuk ruined Brock Purdy’s legacy play 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/GDVa8lMCns
— Brian Y (@byysports) January 15, 2023
The first half was tight and competitive, and Seattle briefly led, but Purdy and his mates broke things open in the third quarter, and Pete Carroll’s men started to come unglued.
Of course, the true tests for Purdy lay ahead, as the 49ers will face tougher competition in the divisional round and the NFC Championship Game, should they make it that far.
When one considers the franchise’s rich history, he will likely have to continue to play well for at least two more playoff games to secure the starting quarterback spot next season, not to mention be its franchise QB for years to come.
