After leading the San Francisco 49ers to a 42-19 victory in Philadelphia on Sunday, quarterback Brock Purdy reminisced on the elbow injury he received during the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles in January.
“I mean, it was sort of in my mind, yeah,” Purdy said after the win, according to Kirk Larrabee of the 49ers WebZone. “I was hurt here.” That happened this year, in late January. But was it going to be a revenge game or something? No, it was Week 13 for me. We’re entering a completely new year, unfriendly atmosphere. We required this game. We require this game. And, of course, we have some really crucial games coming up. So that was where I was with it.”
Purdy said last week that he wasn’t thinking about his ruptured ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm from the last time he competed at Lincoln Financial Field. He eventually finished 19-of-27 pass attempts for 314 yards and four touchdowns against the Eagles on Sunday, leading the 49ers to a 9-3 record. According to ESPN statistics, the 23-year-old entered Monday leading the NFL with a 116.1 passer rating, a 75.6 adjusted QBR (tied with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott), a 70.2% completion percentage, and an average of 9.6 yards per throw attempt. He’s thrown 23 touchdown passes and only six interceptions in 12 games.
“No one was freaking out or anything,” Purdy said of the Eagles’ 6-0 advantage following the first quarter of play. “It was more like, ‘Man, we’ve just got to get the ball rolling.'” We require a positive play. We need to conceive and see a positive play in order to generate momentum. And, especially as a quarterback, all I needed to see was me completing a ball, getting a completion, and getting things moving, which we did.”
Purdy was ranked as the second betting favorite to win Most Valuable Player honors for the season as of early Monday afternoon, at +350 odds. On Sunday, he and the 49ers will face the 6-6 Seattle Seahawks.
