Last year’s Mr. Irrelevant is heading to the Super Bowl.
Brock Purdy’s incredible story reached new heights Sunday as he led the 49ers to an epic 34-31 win over the Lions. He rallied the Niners to biggest second-half comeback in conference championship game history, and they’ll now look for their first Super Bowl win since beating the Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.
There will be plenty of stats and trends to break down over the next two weeks before kickoff at Allegiant Stadium. For now, though, here are five you must know about Purdy after San Francisco clinched a spot in this year’s Super Bowl.
Purdy the ‘Dog
The 49ers opened as high as three-point favorites when the final whistle blew at Levi Stadium. It quickly shifted, though, and they’re now a consensus 1.5-point favorite. This is a spot Purdy’s thrived in over his two-year career. He’s 7-1 against the spread as a favorite of 3.5 or less, or a ‘dog. Meanwhile, he is only 8-10 ATS as a favorite of four or more following the NFC Championship Game.
Seventh Heaven
Purdy will become the first ever seventh-round quarterback to start in the Super Bowl. The only comparable situation is Kurt Warner, who famously went from undrafted afterthought to Super Bowl starter with the Rams in 2000.
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Brock Bounces Back
Purdy was the MVP front runner until fading down the stretch, especially in a Week 17 loss to the Ravens in which he threw four picks in a brutal 33-19 loss. He was less than impressive in San Francisco’s divisional win over the Packers and faced his fair share of critics heading into the championship game. He shut them up though with a huge performance against the Lions. He completed 20-of-31 passes for 267 yards and one touchdown, and carved them up on the ground with five carries for 48 yards.
Primetime Player
Purdy has shined in the spotlight dating back to his days at Iowa State. He entered Sunday night’s game against the Lions as San Francisco’s most profitable primetime QB of the past 20 years, going 6-2 SU and 5-3 ATS. Meanwhile, he went 6-0 at home night games in college, as well.
“Purdy” Good in the Playoffs
Purdy is 4-1 SU and 2-3 ATS in the postseason, but it’s a bit misleading. His lone loss came when he injured his elbow in the first quarter of last year’s conference championship game. He was forced to re-enter the game after backup Josh Johnson suffered a concussion, but was limited to handing it off as the Eagles easily cruised to a 31-7 win. Remove that game and Purdy’s a perfect 4-0 straight up in the postseason.
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