Brock Purdy made his way through the crowd of waiting journalists, dozens of camera crews and reporters gathered around the San Francisco 49ers quarterback at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas. Purdy, this “Mr. “Irrelevant” is anything but insignificant – and in the biggest game of all games he wants to take on the leading role.
“I wasn't handed the keys, I had to work hard for everything,” said Purdy, who was selected as the 262nd and last player in the 2022 draft and is now playing with the 49ers in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. The 24-year-old seems inconspicuous and modest when he talks about his rise from backup quarterback to great hope.
Made for Hollywood
It's a story that seems made for Hollywood and that should culminate in the final in Las Vegas (Monday, 0.30 CET/RTL and DAZN). “From day one I tried to learn and improve,” said Purdy, who was initially only number three behind Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. But when the two quarterbacks were injured, Purdy was allowed to play – and convinced: “I wanted to earn the respect of my teammates. Now I’m ready for my chance.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan trusts Purdy implicitly. “A quarterback’s job is to manage the game and the system,” said Shanahan: “We train that day in and day out. Brock does just that.”
ShAnahan is, in a sense, putting his finger on the miracles: Sure, the quarterback has to “manage” the game, but the term “game manager,” which doesn’t do more than that, has rather negative connotations. But many see Purdy as exactly that, someone who benefits from his coach's brilliant system and the outstanding players around him. Others, on the other hand, see him as a candidate for the most valuable player of the NFL season (“Most Valuable Player, or MVP for short). It is the highest individual award a player can win.
How good is Purdy really?
The truth probably lies somewhere in between. It is also one of Purdy's strengths to extend plays outside of the planned ones, to elude his opponents, to direct his teammates and then to gain a few more yards – either through passes or by running himself. This is the opinion of David Rösler from the 49ers podcast “NEG Outside Zone Talk”. Purdy is not the MVP, but thanks to his achievements he has “the right to be in the discussion for it”.
Sometimes Purdy's game is also fraught with risk. In the play-offs he only threw one interception, but also had three other actions that could or should have ended in a loss of the ball (“turnover”), but in which the defense missed the chance to win the ball. Such assessments, like this one from “Pro Football Focus”, are subjective. But anyone who sees Purdy play will notice such risky passes, more so than Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, for example.
But that's not a problem for Rösler – on the contrary: “I prefer to have a quarterback who sometimes takes a risk when it comes to turnovers, but also creates a lot of big plays.” Because Purdy's predecessor Jimmy Garoppolo is clearly outside the planned structure of the play been “more limited”. That means: If the plan didn't work, a move under Garoppolo quickly ended in a negative way. Purdy, on the other hand, can still make a difference, albeit with a lot of risk here and there.
How good Purdy really is is a very emotional debate. Adrian Franke is one of the best-known German NFL experts and has a corresponding reach. He doesn’t see Purdy as an elite quarterback and MVP candidate. For this he receives a lot of (also unobjective) backlash from fans on social media. Also from a direction that you wouldn't have expected: Ex-Bundesliga soccer referee Manuel Gräfe joined the discussion and accused Franke on “To have your opinion confirmed in one move.”
Franke is also accused of having a dislike for Purdy and therefore intentionally portraying him in a more negative way. The expert likes to counter with articles on X in which he praised Purdy. As I said: an emotional debate. David Rösler summed it up nicely: “Purdy benefits from Shanahan, but Shanahan also benefits from Purdy.” And anyway, you have to look at the offense as a whole.
But the quarterback is particularly in focus. The expectations of Purdy are correspondingly high. He suffered a serious elbow injury in the play-offs last season, but now things should work out better in the next attempt. The 49ers have been eagerly awaiting victory in the Super Bowl for 29 years. In February 2020, San Francisco was already very close to its sixth title, but at that time the Chiefs with star quarterback Patrick Mahomes could not be beaten.
“He just has the winning mentality.”
Now follows the late revenge with “Mr. Irrelevant” as a difference player? Purdy knows it will come down to him. “Brock is a quiet guy when he gives his interviews, reserved, not a loudspeaker,” said wide receiver Chris Conley in an interview with Ran: “But as soon as he steps on the field, everything changes completely. Then this fierce competitor is a great leader.”
Someone who can shape and turn games. Like in the semifinals against the Detroit Lions, in which the 49ers were already well behind, but then came back brilliantly. “He just has the winning mentality,” said backup quarterback Brandon Allen about Purdy: “He delivers the difficult passes, he also runs when he has to, he puts himself in the right position.”
Even in the biggest of all games, when the whole (sports) world is watching? “It's about winning, that's my job,” said Purdy, who doesn't want to give up his nickname even if he wins. “Mr. I like “Irrelevant,” he said with a smile.
#Irrelevant #spotlight #Purdy #lead #49ers #triumph
