There were a lot of questions surrounding San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy going into his first playoff game.
One of them was his ability to go into a high-pressure environment against a team that has played him before, and still play at the high level he has shown previously, now with existing tape on him.
Needless to say, he silenced those doubts Saturday evening.
Purdy played moderately well in the first half, as he and the 49ers trailed by one point going into halftime. He had limited mistakes, and allowed the play-calling to naturally flow with him. Once the second half hit, however, the gloves were off, and Purdy exploded. San Francisco rolled to a blowout win, scoring 41 points, with Purdy throwing for over 300 yards and scoring four total touchdowns.
While Seattle’s defense is not exactly a top-tier unit, the fact that Purdy made some impressive throws and carved them up all afternoon says something about the rookie quarterback’s skill set, and how he’s developing at an absurd pace into a high-level signal-caller in just his first season. He was accurate, decisive, and made impressive play after impressive play.
While sometimes it’s clear that he’s asked to be more of a game manager within a system filled with playmakers, it’s been proven multiple times over now that if the 49ers need to lean on Purdy’s playmaking ability, and ask him to play at a high level, they can very much do so.
The 49ers have to be considered Super Bowl favorites at this point, and “Mr. Irrelevant” is a big reason why.
