Man, how many times does this team have to prove itself? The San Francisco 49ers and their budding superstar QB have once again proven their doubters wrong as they overcame a 17-point half-time deficit over the Lions to make a 2nd Super Bowl appearance in the last four seasons.
If the 49ers win the Super Bowl, then this team and their QB might really go down as one of the most doubter powerhouses in league history.
Despite being the best team in the NFC all year long and having their star QB put up MVP-worthy stats, the San Francisco 49ers and their QB Brock Purdy have been RELENTLESSLY cast aside and doubted by the critics and media heads. And, even though I think the Chiefs will make their dynasty official come Super Bowl Sunday, this 49ers team has shown everyone why they are the best in the NFC.
That’s right, I said it: I believe the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl for a 3rd time in four seasons.
I know this statement probably sounds very strange considering I have been hesitant on the Chiefs’ chances all year long and how I just gassed up the 49ers, but I’ve seen enough character, grit, and determination out of Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Chris Jones and the defense, and Travis Kelce this postseason to pick them to be my Super Bowl winners.
So, how does this relate to anything about the 49ers at all? Well, I’m at least going to be frank and honest to San Fran and wholeheartedly say that this team has performed fantastic all year long!
I really don’t understand why there has been so much hate on this team ever since their narrow loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. Yeah, ever since Brock Purdy and the 49ers had one bad game, it has felt like the entire media landscape has ragged on this team and talked so much trash on different aspects of the offense and defense.
And, seeing as how the 49ers are now in the Super Bowl given their heroic 34-31, comeback victory over the Detroit Lions to win the George Halas NFC championship trophy and be the NFC’s Super Bowl representative, those criticisms look really stupid. Did the media really expect the 49ers to be 17-0 this season, and then go on to be the first and probably only ever 20-0 team?
There’s only ever been two teams in the NFL, the 1972 Miami Dolphins and the 2007 New England Patriots, who have gone undefeated in the regular season, and the ’72 Dolphins are the only team who has ever won a Super Bowl undefeated. Maybe I’m being a little too reactionary in my defense of the 49ers, but the way the media has passive aggressively crapped on this team since Brock Purdy and the rest of the unit had one bad outing in Cleveland has really bugged me.
Oh, and speaking of Brock Purdy: can the media also finally drop the narrative that he’s being carried by this 49ers team?
Again, I really hate to sound like the 49ers shield bearer here given how I’m not even a fan of the team, but the way Brock Purdy has been diced, chewed, and then spit out by the media for a couple of bad games has been INSANE! Are we really forgetting that Brock Purdy is still only 24 years old and in his FIRST SEASON STARTING FOR THE TEAM?!?!
Purdy was slinging passes for Iowa State this time three seasons ago, and the guy has just taken one of the most historic NFL franchises to two straight NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl in his first two seasons as a professional quarterback.
The level of scrutiny that has been put on his head is bordering insanity given the fact that Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, John Elway, Drew Brees, Steve Young, and Roger Staubach all never even saw a Super Bowl game until they were beyond their 3rd season in the NFL AT THE VERY EARLIEST!!! And Purdy has the chance to actually win one in his first full year as a starting quarterback!
The fact that Tom Brady and now Patrick Mahomes (who is having one of the greatest starts to a career of all-time) have been sandwiched in between the rise of Brock Purdy has really impacted the expectations on the young QB, yet I’d argue that Purdy has more than surpassed even those unreasonable standards.
Putting aside the fact that he now has more playoff wins than Lamar Jackson (2), Dak Prescott (2), Jalen Hurts (2), Kirk Cousins (1), Derek Carr (0), Justin Herbert (0), Kyler Murray (0), Trevor Lawerence (1), the same number as Matthew Stafford (4), and just one less than Joe Burrow (5), Josh Allen (5), and Jared Goff (5), Brock Purdy has actually put up BETTER stats than Lamar Jackson this season IMO.
Now, I’d actually give the MVP award to Chrisitan McCaffrey this season, but I’ve seen EVERYONE presumptively crown Lamar Jackson as the next NFL MVP. And, don’t get me wrong, Jackson has had a great season with his 13-3 record, 3,678 passing yards, 67.2% completion percentage, 24 passing TDs, 7 INTs, 3.45-1 TD-INT ratio, 148 rushing carries, 821 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns, his Pro Bowl nod, and 1st Team All-Pro selection.
However, I’d say that Purdy has had a better season than Jackson as he has a better completion percentage (69.4% completion percentage), more passing yards (4,280 yards), more passing TDs (31 TDs), and 4,424 all-purpose yards to Jackson’s 4,499.
So, seeing how QB is a position where you’re meant to throw the football as your primary objective, I’d say that Brock Purdy had a better passing season than Lamar Jackson and is more deserving of the award as he was the better QUARTERBACK!
But, if you think that the MVP should not just be a QB award as it seems to be nowadays, then that argument still wouldn’t favor Lamar Jackson as Christian McCaffrey easily had the most impactful season on his, respective, team of the three players with the Raven defense being their primary reason for success.
Anyway, I just hope the narrative that the 49ers are an underperforming team and Brock Purdy is “being carried” by his teammates goes away as that game last night should have shown all the 49ers doubters that those talking points are stale.
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