Brock Purdy is so much more than a game manager QB for 49ers’ Super Bowl run

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The 49ers have had game managers in the past, including Brock Purdy, but the QB took another step up on Sunday

A year ago, Brock Purdy was starting his eighth career game, which also happened to be the NFC Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles. At a time when many questioned if Purdy was as “deserving” of his place among the final four quarterbacks in the playoffs, less than a year after being the final pick of the draft and surrounded with All-Pro talent, the 49ers rookie remained focus on what he could control as San Francisco was one win away from reaching the Super Bowl.

Unfortunately for Purdy and his team, an elbow injury forced him out of the game after only six snaps and the Niners would be blown out 31-7 without anybody knowing for sure if he’d ever be the same again or if this was his best chance to reach a Super Bowl.

With a 34-31 win over the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship on Sunday, we have our answers to both questions now: The 49ers are headed to the Super Bowl to face the Kansas City Chiefs and Purdy isn’t only the same as his remarkable rookie campaign.

He might be better.

Brock Purdy and Patrick Mahomes have both drawn comparisons to Tom Brady for different reasons. Mahomes because Brady could be the only quarterback in history who has had more success in the playoffs and Purdy because of his unlikely path to a Super Bowl in his second season after being a lowly-rated draft prospect.

Which quarterback deserves the Brady comp more if he wins the Super Bowl?

Brock Purdy is not just “cheap Jimmy Garoppolo”

After a frustrating first half in which Purdy threw an interception and faced a 24-7 halftime deficit, the 49ers came out with a field goal and a 72-yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to seven points. With a Jahmyr Gibbs fumble on the very next play, Purdy set the tone with a 21-yard scramble to setup San Francisco with a touchdown to tie the game.

Next Gen Stats credited Purdy with +10.6 EPA on scrambles (run and pass), the highest total of his career. He ran for three first downs and threw for three when escaping the rush to find an open receiver.

These are not plays typical of your classic “game manager”, as Purdy has been referred to many times in the past. These are not plays you would see from Jimmy Garoppolo during his seven-year run as the the 49ers quarterback, a tenure ended by Purdy only because both Jimmy G and Trey Lance went on IR last season.

Classic Garoppolo would throw a short pitch to George Kittle and let the tight end take over from there. He would do the same with Deebo Samuel.

Sure, yards after the catch are still valuable traits you’ll find in Niners weapons like those two and Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk. Samuel’s 8.8 YAC/R ranked first in the NFL among wide receivers and Kittle’s 7.4 was tied with David Njoku for first with tight ends. Nobody can deny that San Francisco’s supporting cast is the best in the NFL, trickling down all the way to even fullback Kyle Jusczcyk on Sunday.

But Purdy has combined the mentality of a game manager with the creativity of a magician to give head coach Kyle Shanahan the most complete quarterback he’s ever had.

Not just as a head coach but also when he’s been an offensive coordinator, including stops with Matt Ryan and Robert Griffin III. Purdy could even be a combination of the two. Maybe he’s not as good with his legs as RGIII or as accurate as Ryan, but he has more dual traits than Ryan and distributes much better than Griffin.

He’s the next evolution of a game manager. Even Robert Griffin III agrees.

Purdy finished 20-of-31 for 267 yards with one touchdown, one interception, and 48 rushing yards in the win over the Lions.

That probably feels a lot better than tearing up your elbow after six plays.

Not All Perfect

It may not be perfect, but like all great magicians, Brock Purdy has somehow managed to have the best luck of any quarterback in the NFL this season. It continued on Sunday with a throw that probably should have been intercepted and instead turned into a 51-yard gain to Brandon Aiyuk.

Going against Patrick Mahomes in a Super Bowl, another quarterback who consistently just “finds a way” like dinosaur DNA, Purdy now has an opportunity to replace the title of game manager with something more fitting of a player who has everyone’s attention in football:

Super Bowl champion.

Purdy had just finished his sophomore season at Iowa State when the 49ers lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl four years ago. In many ways, the two teams are the same as they were, if not similar enough to be extremely close comparisons given that they have the same head coaches, philosophies, and many of the same players.

The 49ers had Kittle and Deebo and Nick Bosa then, but not Trent Williams or Aiyuk or Christian McCaffrey. No change is more important than the one from Garoppolo to Purdy.

San Francisco couldn’t hold a 10-point fourth quarter lead in that game. This weekend, it wasn’t the lead that they couldn’t hold, but the deficit that couldn’t stop the 49ers and Purdy from finishing off their season as by far the best team in the NFC.

Letting a quarterback come back from a 17-point halftime deficit to beat you in the biggest game of the year?

How do you manage that?