SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 22: Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers looks to pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the first quarter in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Levi's Stadium on January 22, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Trailing 17 points in the locker room in the NFC Championship game, San Fransisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had no worries with their season in jeopardy.
“No one was freaking out,” Purdy said after the 49ers’ 34-31 win. “It’s football, there’s a lot of experienced guys on this team, veterans who have been in crazy situations, so everyone was like, ‘We’ve just got to do our job, straight up.’ We kept it simple. We went out, we all knew what we had to do, the season was on the line, we were down by 17, so everyone stepped up and we played complementary football.”
The 49ers did play extremely well to get themselves back in the game, starting the second half with 17 unanswered points to tie the game 24-24. They would go on to narrowly win the fourth quarter 10-7, clinching their spot in Super Bowl LVIII, which is expected to be an even closer game against the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes.
The 49ers and Chiefs matched up in the Super Bowl just four years ago in Super Bowl LIV, where the Chiefs won 31-20 after scoring three key touchdowns in the fourth quarter to emerge from a 20-20 tie and securing Mahomes first Super Bowl ring.
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Purdy and Mahomes will be the players to watch during the Super Bowl, but despite both playing quarterback, they are expected to play very different roles.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has used Purdy to get the ball in the hands of their stars, including George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey, who all play in elite-skill positions. No matter how many plays these stars can make, Shanahan and the 49ers will have to rely on Purdy to make key plays to get them the ball.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, on the other hand, has relied solely on the combination of Mahomes and Travis Kelce for offensive production throughout the playoffs, with help from an emerging rookie wide receiver in Rashee Rice.
If the Chiefs win the game, it will be hard for anyone but Mahomes to be the Super Bowl MVP. If the 49ers win, the MVP will almost certainly be anyone but Purdy.
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