The San Francisco 49ers are down to their third quarterback, a rookie who was the last pick in the entire draft last April.
That means Mr. Irrelevant is now quite relevant.
Brock Purdy is now the starting quarterback for the 49ers, a team built to win right now. Purdy, a rookie from Iowa State, took over Sunday against the Miami Dolphins when Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a season-ending ankle injury.
Purdy stepped in and helped lead the 49ers to a 33-17 victory over the Dolphins. The 49ers lost Trey Lance to a knee injury earlier this season and now have lost Garoppplo. It’s hard to imagine a team overcoming those types of losses to win it all, but the way the 49ers are constructed, it’s not out of the question.
Purdy displayed a confidence Sunday that allowed him to play winning football. It helps that he has a bevy of talent around him, especially skill-player talent. It also helps that he has a defense on the other side that can dominate games.
Brock Purdy SF • QB • #14 CMP% 63.0 YDs 276 TD 2 INT 2 YD/Att 6 View Profile
The 49ers weren’t great on offense against Miami, but Purdy finished 25 of 37 for 210 yards, two touchdown passes and one pick — impressive numbers for a guy who didn’t expect to play and probably didn’t take more than a handful of reps with the starters over the past month.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is one of the best offensive minds in the game, and he made it easy on Purdy, which he will do as long as he’s the starter. That’s the 49ers way. Running the ball is the foundation of the offense, which makes it easy on any quarterback under center.
That isn’t to say the 49ers are a lock to play in the Super Bowl with Purdy. But don’t count them out just yet.
The 49ers were surging before the Garoppolo injury, but still have to be considered one of the best teams in the NFC. They remain seventh in my Power Rankings this week. Some will say that’s too high with the loss of Garoppolo. But I believe in Shanahan, and Purdy has the ability to operate just fine in this offense.
The big question is whether he can win a game when things aren’t going the right way. If the running game isn’t clicking, can Purdy throw it well enough to win a big game?
That’s for down the line. For now, he showed Sunday he’s more than capable of playing in the league. It wasn’t too big for him. That’s a great sign.
It’s why Mr. Irrelevant is now really truly relevant in the race to the Super Bowl.