Jerry Rice, a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, is regarded by many as the greatest player of his kind in NFL history. Only Tom Brady is considered a better quarterback of all time, and Northern California’s dynasty was led by four-time Super Bowl champion Joe Montana.
Brock Purdy, a quarterback in his second year, has started 19 games in the regular season, which is exactly the number of postseason games Montana started throughout his time in the red and gold.
With the 2023 NFL regular season coming to an end, why are these three having this conversation? We appreciate you asking.
Rice most recently made an appearance on the podcast of current All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers. In the process, he remarkably made a parallel between Montana and Purdy.
“It seems like Brock is a lot like Joe Montana. His composure. “He remains unfazed,” Jerry Rice said of Brock Purdy.
Montana was known as “Joe Cool” for the whole of his professional life. It gained traction after he notably identified John Candy in the Super Bowl XXIII crowd, just before driving San Francisco down the field to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals with a score. That is this case’s history.
Regarding the comparison, Purdy, in his first full season as the starting quarterback for the 49ers, is still receiving high marks.Mr. Irrelevant, the former Iowa State standout who was selected with the final choice in the 2022 NFL Draft, is currently the clear favorite to win NFL MVP.
Stats for Brock Purdy (2023): 119.0 QB rating, 70% completion rate, 3,795 yards, 31 total touchdowns, 7 interceptions.
Purdy just finished a run of seven games in a row with a completion percentage of at least 70%. That ranks second in NFL history, only surpassed by Joe Montana’s 1989 accomplishment.
All the same, it is clear that the comparison is too early. Whenever speaking in general terms, anyway. What was it that Rice was referring to? It does make sense in part, though. For the most part in his short career, Purdy has avoided that grave error and has displayed a good level of composure in the pocket.
