49ers quarterback Brock Purdy didn’t get off to quite as bad a start as Trevor Lawrence on Saturday, but the first half against the Seahawks was not his finest hour.
Purdy was fortunate to avoid interceptions while going 9-of-19 for 147 yards and a touchdown in the first 30 minutes. The Seahawks led 17-16 at the break, but the second half was far more prosperous for the rookie and the team.
Purdy went 9-of-11 for 185 yards and two touchdowns as the 49ers scored the first 25 points of the second half to pull away for a comfortable win. Purdy became the first rookie quarterback to win a playoff start since January 2013 and the youngest player to ever throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a playoff game.
After the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan said the 49ers never lost their faith in Purdy during the slow start and said that their belief in him continues to grow.
“I felt that way from the beginning,” Shanahan said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “Once he got in that game versus Miami he didn’t have the luxury to sit there and worry about stuff the way the game was going. We just had to call plays to try to win the game, and he did such a hell of a job. He’s done it every time since. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him and he gives us more and more confidence each week.”
It was natural to have doubts about Purdy when the seventh-round pick was first thrust into the lineup, but they’re getting harder and harder to justify as the 49ers keep rolling.