The San Francisco 49ers escaped last weekend with a 24-21 win over the Green Bay Packers, advancing to the NFC Championship to face the Detroit Lions. MVP candidate and quarterback Brock Purdy went 23-of-39 for 252 yards and a touchdown. He struggled at times but led the 49ers on a 69-yard game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. Purdy dominated during his first full season as a starter, throwing for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns against 11 picks.
The Iowa State product led the NFL in numerous advanced statistics, like EPA/A and Y/A, but some NFL talking heads aren’t sold on Purdy as a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. ESPN’s Ryan Clark spoke about Purdy on First Take, saying he doesn’t equate to the caliber of the three other remaining signal-callers in the postseason.
“The single hardest thing I had to do this year was act like Brock Purdy deserved to be in the conversations with (Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson)” – Ryan Clark pic.twitter.com/yAwg2UxD4s
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 22, 2024
Ryan Clark: Takes Aim at Brock Purdy
Clark ranted on ESPN’s flagship show First Take, saying, “The single hardest thing I had to do this year was act like Brock Purdy deserved to be in the conversations with (Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson) because he was playing extremely well and operating in that offense by distributing the ball to Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk. Those things are not alike.”
Clark, who played in the NFL, believes Purdy gets elevated by the offensive skill players around him, while the other quarterbacks, like Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Patrick Mahomes, elevate the talent around them. However, only Allen had more passing yards than Purdy. Meanwhile, Purdy had more touchdown passes than the three mentioned by Clark.
Clark continued, saying, “Brock Purdy does not raise the level of play of anyone around him. When you talk about Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson, the people around them benefit from having those sorts of players at the quarterback position. Brock Purdy benefits from having the sort of players he has at the skill positions around him.”
Clark compared this year’s rendition of the San Francisco 49ers to the teams led by former quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The Eastern Illinois product led the 49ers for years, including a trip to the Super Bowl. However, like Garoppolo, Clark thinks Purdy could also fail to bring a ring to San Francisco.
Clark finished his rant by saying, “You don’t take Brock Purdy over Jared Goff right now. And you for sure don’t take Brock Purdy over the two dudes on the other side in the AFC.”
San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy: MVP Caliber Season
Brock Purdy, Josh Allen, and Dallas Cowboys gunslinger Dak Prescott are the only three quarterbacks this season to finish in the top five in passing yards and touchdowns. Pudry led the NFL with a 72.8 rating with 13.9 yards per completion. He earned his first Pro Bowl nod while being one win away from returning the 49ers to the Super Bowl. The final pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Purdy is undefeated in postseason games he finishes.
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