San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy talked a lot about returning to the scene of the crime in the lead up to his team taking on the Eagles in Phildelphia Sunday afternoon.
Purdy suffered an elbow injury early in San Francisco’s blowout 31-7 loss to Philadelphia in last season’s NFC Championship Game. Then a rookie, Purdy’s injury led to off-season elbow surgery. It came after the former seventh-round pick put up an historic performance to open his career in replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo a year ago this month.
Fast forward several months, and Purdy’s 49ers were looking to put up a statement win against the 10-1 Eagles in Philadelphia during NFL Week 13.
It did not start out great for the 49ers as they finished the first quarter with negative yards en route to trailing 6-0.
The lights then turned on for San Francisco’s offense in a big way. Starting with an 85-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter, San Francisco dropped six on six consecutive possessions. This span saw the 49ers’ offense put up 450 total yards. They were absolutely on one in making a major statement via 42-19 win over Philadelphia.
After missing on his first four pass attempts, Purdy completed 19-of-23 passes for 314 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. He connected with Jennings, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel (twice) on touchdown passes as Purdy completely outplayed Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
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Brock Purdy is a clear NFL MVP candidate after latest performance
Purdy entered Sunday’s game having accounted for seven touchdowns with one interception during San Francisco’s three-game winning streak. It’s not a coincidence that the 49ers outscored their opponents by 48 points during that three-game span.
But what we saw from this team Sunday against a 10-1 Eagles squad was something else. Being able to rebound after major struggles in the first quarter tells us a major story. In reality, Purdy showed himself big time as the 49ers won going away.
For Mr. Irrelevant, he’s proven himself to be more than relevant in San Francisco. Remember, it was back in November that Purdy became the first 49ers quarterback since Joe Montana back in 1989 to tally a perfect QB rating in a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sunday’s win is just the continuation of what has been a brilliant sophomore season for Purdy.
- Brock Purdy stats (2023): 70.1% completion, 3,185 yards, 25 total TD, 6 INT, 116.1 QB rating
Purdy leads the NFL in completion percentage, yards per attempt, yards per completion and quarterback rating. He’s doing so within the confines of an offense averaging nearly 30 points per game and on a team that’s now has to be considered the odds-on Super Bowl favorites.
For Purdy, Sunday’s win has to be seen as the next step in his evolution to MVP status despite the quarterback not reading too much of it heading in.
“Am I going to go in there and get all sentimental about, ‘I’ve come a long way since?’ It’s not really like that. Am I going to go into the game saying I want revenge and all this kind of stuff? It’s not like that [either]. So, I’m just going to try to go do my job and be the best Brock that I can be for this team.”
Brock Purdy on his return to Philadelphia
About that? Purdy now heads into Week 14 against the Seattle Seahawks on pace to throw for 4,500 yards with 35 total touchdowns and nine interceptions.
It would represent the best single-season performance for a 49ers quarterback since Jeff Garcia back in 2001. Before that? Hall of Famer Steve Young in 1998. Going tit-for-tat with a quarterback in Hurts who many had pegged as the NFL MVP favorite heading in only lends credence to the idea that Purdy himself has to be seen as a legit MVP favorite.
We know the narrative. The last pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. A quarterback that just didn’t seem destined for stardom in the NFL. A product of Kyle Shanahan’s system in San Francisco. Those are all now worn-out narratives.
Instead, Purdy has proven himself to be the system with the 49ers. Sunday’s win over Philadelphia adds another layer to this and writes another chapter in Purdy’s already shocking early-career development.
Say it with us. Brock Purdy should be the NFL MVP favorite. It’s that simple.