SANTA CLARA — Brock Purdy played it cool Thursday, stiff-arming an obvious storyline of seeking vengeance in Sunday’s return to Philadelphia, where his elbow injury triggered their NFC Championship Game loss 10 months ago.
“Am I going to go in feeling sentimental? … Am I going in to say I want revenge? It’s nothing like that,” Purdy said.
Instead, Purdy shifted the focus toward the bigger picture, how the 49ers (8-3) need a win over the Eagles (10-3) for playoff ramifications, especially “where” they’ll be in the postseason.
Last visit went haywire only six snaps into the 49ers’ opening possession, when Purdy took a snap at midfield and had his right elbow struck by speedy Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick.
Reddick hasn’t reached out since then, nor did Purdy expect any well-wishes in what’s been arguably the NFL’s best comeback story this season. “It’s just the game. It’s how it goes. You get hurt,” Purdy said.
He’s responded so well from his March 10 elbow repair that he leads NFL passers in multiple categories: 112.3 rating, 70.2 completion percentage, 9.4 yards per attempt. He’s thrown 19 touchdown passes and six interceptions. More pertinent to this Philadelphia encore, he’s been sacked 21 times in 10 games, with two lost fumbles on those sacks (against the Steelers and the Bengals).
Purdy’s only stint on the 49ers’ injury report all season was a concussion from the Oct. 23 loss at Minnesota. He cleared NFL protocol and played six days later in the Oct. 29 defeat to the Bengals.
Whereas some players take an extra moment to themselves amid a comeback in a stadium where they got hurt, Purdy said his approach won’t change. “Usually every game, whenever I go in, I take a moment to be thankful where I’m at and thankful to be playing,” Purdy said.
When a Bay Area reporter shared with Purdy that some Philadelphia media consider him the 49ers’ weak link, Purdy responded: “First time I’ve heard that, so don’t know how I feel about that. If they think that, that’s fine. I’m playing quarterback for the 49ers and we have a good team. I’m trying to help them win.”
An additional hazard in Philadelphia, aside from the Eagles’ pass rush, are weather conditions. It could rain, and Purdy struggled in slick conditions in Cleveland, where he completed a season-low 44.4 percent of his passes (12-of-27, 125 yards, one touchdown, one interception) but still got the 49ers in position for a potential winning field goal.
“I’ve been through some situations with Brock, not just the game but practice, but I think he’s as good as any quarterback I’ve had in the rain,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He’s dealt with it a lot at Iowa State.”
At Iowa State, Purdy was coached by Matt Campbell, at Mount Union where, in 2005, he served on the same staff as current Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, who got his coaching start there (defensive backs).
“We were all at Mount Union together. They’ve been talking about this guy for a long time,” Sirianni recalled this week to Philadelphia reporters. “He led (Iowa State) to the Fiesta Bowl. He’s a winner and continues to win. You saw that last year and what he’s doing this year.”
Sirianni has seen enough of Purdy to capture his strengths: “He’s got good athleticism, He knows where to go with the football in a timely fashion, and he’s accurate going there. Those are the things you want in a quarterback.”
Check back for more on this developing story
