You wish to know who assigned duty and demanded that the 49ers combat by means of their game-long struggles? Who laid out all of the potential penalties? That might be Purdy and each different member of the 49ers, who received themselves into this spot with one in all their most baffling performances of this season.
They received the ball again with 6:13 left within the recreation after a Packers field-goal miss. They 49ers trailed by 4 factors. They wanted a landing. They usually knew this was most likely their final reasonable probability to determine the way to keep away from a horrendous loss on this divisional-round playoff recreation. So as soon as the offense received into the huddle, Trent Williams gave a mini-speech.
“I simply informed them, hey, man, with six minutes left, this could be the final time we get the ball. And if we don’t do one thing with it, this might be the final time we’re on this huddle collectively,” Williams recalled. “So no matter you’ve received, simply deliver it. Convey it the following play after which deliver it the play after that after which let the remaining care for itself.”
All of them felt it. The 49ers have been at Levi’s Stadium, arrange as NFC favorites to get to the Tremendous Bowl, they usually completely felt it. What occurred subsequent: Purdy broke out of his funk and began finishing passes, Brandon Aiyuk made an enormous diving catch on third down, Purdy scrambled contained in the Packers’ 10-yard line and at last Christian McCaffrey bolted in for a 6-yard landing that put the 49ers forward eventually. Then Dre Greenlaw completed off the 49ers’ 24-21 victory by intercepting Jordan Love’s ill-advised across-his-body heave within the ultimate minute.
However oh yeah, the 49ers felt it. And no one felt it greater than Purdy. Virtually an hour after the sport, you possibly can inform they nonetheless felt it — all of the adrenaline, all the frustration over taking part in so haphazardly in such a giant recreation, all the importance and all of the aid. The 49ers noticed their playoff lives flash earlier than their eyes Saturday … and due to these final handful of performs, they’re nonetheless alive with a berth within the NFC Championship Sport at Levi’s on Jan. 28, dealing with the winner of Sunday’s Lions-Buccaneers recreation.
Dre Greenlaw runs with the ball after intercepting a Inexperienced Bay move within the fourth quarter to safe the 49ers’ victory. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / Related Press)
They reside. They usually know somewhat extra about themselves now than they did in any case their straightforward victories this season. (However so do their opponents.)
“At some extent, you’re down and also you’ve gotta discover a method,” Purdy stated. “It’s the fourth quarter, it’s the NFL. Clearly, we’re within the postseason now. We have been all, like, all proper, that is it. That is our season. For us to capitalize on that was large. For all of us.
“Clearly for myself as a quarterback, it’s good for confidence and all that. However we’ve too many good gamers on this staff, so many gamers which can be difference-makers. We’ve received an incredible protection. For us to not discover a method, it’s not proper. So for us to lastly have a recreation like this and pull by means of it was large for all of us.”
Nick Bosa flat-out stated that the 49ers wanted a recreation like this and famous that they misplaced all their shut video games this common season and gained all of the blowouts. And greater than anyone, Purdy wanted one thing like this. After all, the 49ers by no means wish to see Purdy wobble for three-plus quarters the best way he did Saturday. The 49ers by no means wish to get outplayed like the best way the Packers outplayed them for many of this recreation.
However the 49ers additionally wanted to see Purdy stand up from a wrestle and ship. They wanted him to not simply be an incredible front-runner. They wanted him to dig out from a gap and win this dang recreation, and he went 6-of-7 on that final drive, trying fairly calm (“he was Brock, couldn’t inform something,” Williams stated of that second) and really very like the man who led the NFL in passer score and broke the 49ers’ single-season report for passing yards this season.
So what on this planet was taking place on this recreation for Purdy earlier than that? The rain, for certain, brought on him some bother, the identical method the moist climate in Cleveland early this season appeared to hassle him. At instances Saturday, Purdy wiped his proper hand at the same time as he dropped again to move.
“Clearly, I placed on a glove for the primary drive,” Purdy stated. “It was coming down in sprinkles, so I took it off. I used to be making an attempt to determine what I needed to do. I used to be kind of fed up with the glove. … Yeah, there have been instances I dropped again when the ball was somewhat moist from the grass. Kind of affected some accuracy and stuff. However that’s soccer. I’ve gotta be higher than that.”
GO DEEPER
49ers overcome Packers, rain and their very own errors: ‘It was intestine examine for everyone’
Not a difficulty, although, if it’s dry subsequent Sunday at Levi’s and naturally in no way if the 49ers get to the Tremendous Bowl at Las Vegas’ indoor Allegiant Stadium in February.
Purdy additionally stated that the Packers’ protection did a great job chopping off his deep choices and forcing him to go to his checkdowns. After which Purdy spent a lot of the recreation speeding these checkdowns, typically for incompletions. Additionally, whereas the Packers registered just one sack within the recreation, the move rush appeared to hassle Purdy — altering his throwing lanes and making him transfer his toes as he threw, which led to a few wild passes that the Packers simply might’ve intercepted however dropped.
This could be a problematic subject for the 49ers within the subsequent few weeks, since Purdy additionally regarded fairly uncomfortable in opposition to the Ravens on Christmas, and the Ravens very effectively might be the AFC’s consultant within the Tremendous Bowl. However Purdy seemed like he solved one thing in his head throughout that final drive; in the event that they’re begging you to take the straightforward move, and the straightforward move can march you down the sphere, simply take the straightforward move. Don’t let earlier errors mess you up when it issues most.
“We had what we needed proper in entrance of us, so it’s a must to clear the slate,” Purdy stated. “You need to have a clear thoughts and never attempt to drive something. Take what the protection provides you. And discover a method, man.”
On that final drive, Purdy accomplished the quick passes that have been there after which zipped a vital 17-yard out path to Chris Conley. His solely incompletion on the collection got here when George Kittle — who in any other case was the 49ers’ greatest offensive performer, chipping in a 32-yard TD within the second quarter and 81 receiving yards general — dropped one other quick one, which Purdy adopted up with the dart to Aiyuk on third down.
“The entire day was just a bit off,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan stated. “However guys caught with it. Even that second-and-6 proper there on the finish, getting that drop leads us to third-and-6, then BA made a helluva play to maintain us on the sphere.”
One other potential trigger for the 49ers’ bumpy offensive play: the two-week layoff, counting Week 18 when Purdy and lots of different frontliners sat out the meaningless loss to the Rams and final weekend’s bye.
“I don’t know, might’ve been that,” Shanahan stated. “Might’ve been the rain, might be good protection. However these are stuff you’ve gotta discuss. We dealt with that as greatest we might.”
Purdy, who was 23-for-39 on the day for 252 yards and 1 TD, for a 86.7 passer score, wasn’t the one struggling 49er on this recreation, in fact. The protection suffered by means of a handful of slips and miscues in opposition to Love and his receivers and gave up an enormous 53-yard run to Aaron Jones. The 49ers’ particular groups received hit, too — the protection unit gave up a 73-yard kickoff return to Keisean Nixon and Jake Moody had a 48-yard field-goal try deflected on the line.
However the protection turned in Greenlaw’s game-sealing interception, plus one other one earlier, and stopped Inexperienced Bay within the purple zone a number of instances. And Moody made up for his earlier miss with a clutch 52-yarder early within the fourth quarter that introduced the 49ers to inside 21-17.
“Under no circumstances was it excellent,” Shanahan stated. “I used to be very pissed off. But in addition extraordinarily proud and in addition actually pumped that we’re taking part in one other week.”
Fairly frankly, the 49ers performed the sort of playoff recreation that normally will get a staff eradicated. There would’ve been harsh criticism leveled all through the NFL if the 49ers and Purdy had misplaced this recreation. And the 49ers and Purdy knew all that, because the clock ticked down they usually received into that huddle. There was a season to avoid wasting. And now there could be a pair extra video games left to play.
GO DEEPER
Dre Greenlaw wouldn’t go down, and neither did the 49ers due to him
(Prime picture of Brock Purdy: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Pictures)
