A big reason San Francisco was able to pull off a big comeback win over Detroit during the NFC Championship on Sunday is because Brock Purdy had a huge second half.
Over the final two quarters, Purdy was nearly perfect: Not only did he complete 13 of 16 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown in the second half, but he also had three scrambles for 52 yards, with all three scrambles giving the 49ers a first down.
Purdy’s performance played a big part in why the 49ers were able to win the game, 34-31, despite trailing by 17 points at the half.
Brock Purdy
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Purdy’s nearly perfect second half was reminiscent of something Joe Montana might do, which was fitting, because Purdy matched Montana in the NFL record books on Sunday.
With the win over the Lions, Purdy became the first quarterback in 39 years to sweep every other playoff team in the conference. The NFC playoff field consisted of the Cowboys, Lions, Buccaneers, Eagles, Rams and Packers, and Purdy led the 49ers to a win over each of those teams this season.
- Week 2: 49ers 30-23 over (6) Rams
- Week 5: 49ers 42-10 over (2) Cowboys
- Week 11: 49ers 27-14 over (4) Buccaneers
- Week 13: 49ers 42-19 over (5) Eagles
- Divisional round: 49ers 24-21 over (7) Packers
- NFC title game: 49ers 34-31 over (3) Lions
The last QB to sweep the entire playoff field in his conference was Montana. The 49ers legend beat every other NFC playoff team in 1984 before leading San Francisco to a dominating 38-16 win over the Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX.
Before Purdy, there had only been five quarterbacks to sweep every playoff team in their conference: Roger Staubach (1971), Fran Tarkenton (1973), Terry Bradshaw (1975) and Montana.
Purdy’s feat is definitely more impressive, though, because the 49ers had to beat six different teams to complete the sweep. The three quarterbacks from the 1970s only had to beat three others because there were only four playoff teams in each conference back then.
During the 1984 postseason, Montana had to beat four other teams.
Beating every playoff team in your conference is usually a good sign: Of the four quarterbacks who did it before Purdy, three of them went on to win the Super Bowl. Tarkenton was the only one who failed to get a Lombardi Trophy.
