Brock Purdy isn’t fazed by the pressure ahead of Wild Card Weekend

Despite playing in his first NFL playoff game ever, 49ers rookie QB Brock Purdy is ready for the moment.

It may be because he’s played in the last six games for San Francisco (undefeated in his NFL career), or maybe because he was a four-year starter at Iowa State. Regardless of the reason, Purdy is up to the task as a rookie, knowing full well that at the end of the day, it’s just another game.

“I’m not trying to make it bigger than what it is,” Brock Purdy said after practice Wednesday. “Obviously, there’s more on the line and everything. But I think having six games under my belt, in terms of just playing in an NFL game and trying to win four quarters, it’s helped me get to this point and all the guys in the locker room got my back. We’ve all grown together, so we’re ready for what’s ahead.”

It’s a little for sure, as round 1 of the 2022 playoffs will be the first time Purdy has seen an opponent he’s already faced in the Seattle Seahawks.

Clinching the NFC West title Week 15 at Lumen Field, the Red & Gold dominated the home team in a 21-13 victory. Purdy himself had quite the performance, going off for 217 yards passing and two touchdowns while dealing with a rib/oblique injury.

Now weeks removed from his first showdown, the rookie gunslinger is feeling close to 100% healthy, focused on doing the simple things right and trusting head coach Kyle Shanahan’s game-plan.

Wettest 49ers practice of the season happening right now. Over 4 minutes of passing drills, Brock Purdy only let the ball hit the ground once pic.twitter.com/HJhYuUBVnB

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) January 11, 2023

“We played them what seems like yesterday,” Purdy said with a smirk. “For myself it’s come back in, ‘what have they done different the last couple games?’ You know, ‘what did we do to attack them the first time?’ And go from there. But again, not trying to overthink things or do anything crazy. Stick to what your coach has dialed up. Just going to try to play my game and go from there. Keep it simple.”

Part of his game is the off-schedule plays when he rolls to his right or left, or when he runs away from defenders and finds an open man. His biggest benefactor of that has been tight end George Kittle, connecting with him for seven touchdowns since taking over for Jimmy Garoppolo. Last game he found Kittle for two TD scores, one in the first half and the other to seal the win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Despite the pair’s light-hearted rivalry of alma maters (Iowa State vs. Iowa), Purdy is thankful that Kittle is on his NFL team.

“I think [Kittle] does a great job of creating separation, and then his frame that he has obviously as a tight end. He just is a great mismatch and he’s explosive and how he runs routes and stuff. He does a great job of just like I said, creating space and I know where he’s going to be. I’m thankful to have George, he’s a freak of nature and just got to continue to have that connection moving forward,” Purdy said.

Brock Purdy received playoff advice from Fred Warner and said the energy is good right now 💪 pic.twitter.com/jz7oDlxQJ3

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) January 11, 2023

If Brock Purdy continues his unbeaten streak through the postseason, he will become the first rookie QB to start and win a Super Bowl. He’s played so well down the stretch that it almost warrants Offensive Rookie of the Year consideration.

And yet, none of that matters to the Arizona native right now.

It’ll be great to reflect on in the offseason, but for now, he’s just focused on doing his job to best of his abilities.

“I feel like I’ll do a lot of reflecting after the season. Right now, I’m looking at it like ‘man, we got the Seahawks’. Yes, it’s playoffs, but for myself, it’s ‘I gotta do my job’. I’m not trying to think about the storybook ending [or] anything like that. It’s ‘man, I got a great defense I got to play on Sunday’. I got to do my job, in terms of giving the guys the ball. And all that will fall into place, but definitely thankful for everything that has happened. But you know, we still have a ways to go,” Purdy stated.

Click here for the Brock Purdy’s full Wednesday presser

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