Brock Purdy says Dallas playoff game was the toughest test of his NFL career

Oct 5, 2023, 5:16 PM | Updated: Oct 6, 2023, 9:40 am

Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the seco...

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Sports Editor/Writer

Brock Purdy has had to overcome much adversity since taking over the starting quarterback job for the 49ers, including tough tests on the road early on in his career.

But it was the playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys that was seen as the toughest of them all by the gunslinger.

Purdy was asked about San Francisco’s 19-12 2022 NFC Divisional Round win over their Texas rivals Thursday. In that game, the QB finished with only 214 passing yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. While those numbers aren’t poor by any means, Purdy admitted it was his biggest challenge last season, expecting a similar test this weekend.

“Yeah, honestly I’d say so,” Brock Purdy told the media Thursday. “You know, they were really good defense. And there were times where just the pass routes or my rhythm, someone just felt off that game. They did a good job with just getting me offset with some little things. And just rushing things and I feel like I didn’t get in a good rhythm, the process, just what we had going on. So there were some areas in there that I could definitely be better at.”

Brock Purdy on how he's using last season's divisional-round matchup vs. the Cowboys to prepare for this week 🔽 pic.twitter.com/HXGtprNvN7

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) October 5, 2023

Despite the struggles, the 49ers and Purdy made enough adjustments after halftime to eventually pull away in the third and fourth quarters.

While running back Christian McCaffrey got the score from two yards out, Purdy’s 3o-yard throw to tight end George Kittle set up San Francisco. And thanks to an effective ground game, the 49ers were back in business when it mattered most.

Regardless, the young QB still sees a lot of holes in his performance that night, hoping to make good the second time he faces the Cowboys in his career.

“At the end of the day, I do expect more of myself. To be able to take the next step and go through reads, progressions, pass rush that might be a little bit more aggressive. That’s where I’m at with that, but definitely one of my toughest games,” Purdy stated.

Set to face their NFC foes once more under the bright lights of primetime, all expect a good game between the two playoff contenders. But the past doesn’t matter much to Purdy, focused on one game at a time as the Red & Gold look to go 5-0 to start the 2023 season.

However, he did admit that 49ers-Cowboys has a bit more weight to it, given the history of the two franchises.

“Obviously, every single game is important and this week we got the Cowboys, so that’s the most important game to us. You go another step further than that, just the history with the two organizations, playoff games, all that stuff over the last couple of years. I mean, it’s no secret [that] it’s a big deal to both organizations and take pride in winning and things like that….But at the same time, it’s another Sunday for us, and we just want to take care of business,” Brock Purdy said.