Brock Purdy doesn’t do much talking, but he let his actions speak for him in the 49ers’ NFC Championship Game comeback win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
Aside from punching a ticket to Super Bowl LVIII in historic fashion, regret and retraction from Purdy naysayers was the cherry on top of an already sweet, sweet victory.
Former NFL safety-turned-ESPN analyst Ryan Clark recently made headlines for the harsh rant he delivered about Purdy. Clark confessed on “First Take” that the most challenging thing he had to do over the course of the 2023 NFL season was “act like Brock Purdy deserved to be in the conversation” with Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson regarding the NFL MVP award.
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One week later, Purdy’s performance in the conference title game made Clark do a complete 180 and admit he was wrong.
“When you look at what Brock Purdy was able to do — Brock Purdy has separated himself from Dak Prescott. Brock Purdy has separated himself from Tua Tagovailoa. Brock Purdy has separated himself from guys like Kirk Cousins and from guys like Justin Herbert,” Clark said Monday on “Get Up.” “He was asked in the most pressurized moment to be the best he could possibly be. And you know what magnifying glasses do, right?
“…When they were looking for Brock Purdy’s imperfections, they got closer to him. Brock Purdy became more of himself. He used his legs. He played above the Xs and Os. Brock Purdy, in my opinion, if I’m looking at those two games (49ers-Lions and Chiefs-Ravens), Brock Purdy did what we would’ve expected Lamar Jackson to do. Brock Purdy trusted himself. Brock Purdy put the football where it was supposed to be. Brock Purdy won the football game — down 17.”
Clark wasn’t alone in retracting his criticism. Many sports pundits temporarily abandoned the Brock Purdy Hate Train to join the Brock Purdy Support-mobile after his impressive performance in Sunday’s win.
“Why not believe in Brock Purdy, now? He’s done all you can ask of him.”
— @Chris_Broussard on Purdy’s performance in 49ers win over Lions: pic.twitter.com/DG2ouiPAm6
“This was the best scrambling game Brock Purdy has had. … This game was a massive step in the right direction.”
— @getnickwright gives Purdy *some* credit ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ONv7mtNlEQ
In the game just before Sunday’s NFC Championship, Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd heavily criticized Purdy for his performance in San Francisco’s come-from-behind victory against the Green Bay Packers. However, Cowherd shifted his tone when discussing the second-year quarterback’s latest impressive showing.
“That last San Francisco team was not as good as this team offensively… Yes, I’ll say it. They didn’t have Brock Purdy.”
— @ColinCowherd says why SF’s QB deserves credit pic.twitter.com/WssHWparg0
Contrastingly, numerous backers of Purdy, such as Pat McAfee and Richard Sherman, publicly criticized those making extreme judgments about the young quarterback. As former athletes turned sports personalities, they didn’t need to retract their statements but happily boasted about being vindicated.
“I TOLD YOU Brock Purdy would lead you there” —@RSherman_25 brags about Brock Purdy performance against the Lions.
Purdy and the 49ers have one final challenge ahead as they gear up for a Super Bowl LIV rematch against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
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