Peter King’s Glowing Review: Purdy’s Fearless Showdown with Mahomes Leaves NFL Fans in Awe
Brock Purdy delivered a valiant effort in the 49ers’ crushing overtime loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.
While San Francisco came short of their ultimate goal, NBC Sports’ Peter King was extremely impressed with how the 24-year-old quarterback handled himself on the sport’s biggest stage.
“This was a fascinating game, for many reasons. I’ll start with San Francisco,” King wrote in his Football Morning in America column. “The other day, at Kansas City practice, CBS’ Tony Romo was on hand to scout KC. We got to talking about Brock Purdy.
“Romo likes him a lot, but he did say, ‘It’s hard to know how a guy responds to playing in the Super Bowl until he plays in one. Lots of times in Super Bowls, right at kickoff, players try to get some saliva in their mouths, and it’s not there.’
King highlighted Purdy’s exceptional poise on the Super Bowl stage, referencing a pair of deep completions in the first half before taking a shot at the detractors who have diminished the 24-year-old’s play with a “game manager” label.
“Purdy had his saliva, apparently,” King said. “In a one-minute span late in the first quarter, he threw a pass to Chris Conley, 32 yards in the air, per Next Gen Stats, for a gain of 18. A 19-yard strike to Ray-Ray McCloud traveled 29.4 yards—and both were absolute strikes.
“Call Purdy a game manager, a game warden, I don’t care. He went toe-to-toe with the great Mahomes for five quarters, didn’t turn it over — Mahomes threw a pick and fumbled twice — and acquitted himself very, very well.”
Purdy finished the Super Bowl loss with 255 passing yards and a touchdown, which put the 49ers ahead 16-13 in the fourth quarter. He also did not turn the ball over during the game.
The young quarterback showed tremendous resiliency against the Chiefs’ defense’s exotic pressures, going 12 for 18 with 131 passing yards and one touchdown when blitzed in the Super Bowl defeat.
Purdy’s finished fourth in NFL MVP voting in his sophomore season, throwing for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns in 16 regular-season starts.
There are a number of reasons San Francisco failed to capture the Super Bowl glory that has long eluded the prestigious franchise, but Purdy’s performance in the big game is not one of them.
Going down to the wire with a quarterback like Mahomes might feel like a hollow consolation prize after falling short of victory, but as time begins to heal the fresh wounds of another Super Bowl defeat, Purdy’s performance under the bright lights offers a reason for optimism for years to come.
Before last night’s Super Bowl began, a member of the national media posed to me a question worth at least considering.
If the 49ers lose the game, will coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers need a fresh start, at some point?
Chiefs coach Andy Reid got a fresh start, albeit after 14 seasons with the Eagles. Shanahan already has seven years with the 49ers, and he has lost two Super Bowls. At what point will it be in his best interests, and/or the team’s best interests, to have a reboot?
Now isn’t the time, in my view. Not with quarterback Brock Purdy potentially having a higher ceiling that could allow Shanahan to finally break through and win the big game. With each additional Super Bowl loss, however, there will be more and more focus on the question of Shanahan can get it done.
Indeed, the next time the 49ers return to the game, one of the dominant storylines will be whether he can overcome failures in Super Bowl LI (as Atlanta’s offensive coordinator), Super Bowl LIV, and Super Bowl LVIII.
The simple truth is that Shanahan keeps losing to Mahomes. The other simple truth is that Shanahan could have drafted Mahomes in 2017, but Shanahan passed on the emerging GOAT. At some point, the string of Super Bowl losses — especially to Mahomes — could become too long.
Again, it’s premature to think about Shanahan wanting or needing to go elsewhere. But with two Super Bowl losses and two NFC Championship losses in the last five years, the pressure will keep building on Shanahan to get back to the Super Bowl and win it. And each time he gets close, the questions will emerge (again) as to whether he can win the big one.
Reid faced those same questions during his early years in Philadelphia. He went to four straight NFC Championships before finally getting to the Super Bowl, and then he lost to the Patriots. It wasn’t until Reid was fired by the Eagles and landed with the Chiefs that things changed.
Actually, it wasn’t until Reid got Mahomes that things changed. And Shanahan could have had him. Of all the things that surely will torment Shanahan, the fact that he didn’t take a closer look at the quarterback who already might be the best to ever play the game is the one thing that should give Shanahan a lifetime of stomach acid.
Shanahan shouldn’t feel alone in his futility. Mahomes will relegate plenty of other coaches and players to also-ran status, mainly in the AFC. Twice now in the Super Bowl, however, Mahomes has wiped out a 10-point lead built by Shanahan’s team in the biggest game of the year.
If it happens a third time, Shanahan might not want to set himself up for a fourth.
Some would say losing in the Super Bowl is a good problem to have. Those who would say that haven’t dealt with the repeated pain of losing and losing and losing in the ultimate American sporting event. How many losses can Shanahan take with the 49ers before he just needs to start the journey all over again with another team?
Hell, maybe he should start counting the years until Reid inevitably retires and then try to get to Kansas City. Given that Shanahan has been unable to beat Mahomes, the best solution could be to join him.