Getty Brock Purdy faces the rush on January 14, 2023 in Santa Clara.
There are a select few who understood the nerves Brock Purdy showed early in his NFL playoff debut with the San Francisco 49ers, misfiring on throws and enduring a slow start on offense in the Super Wild Card Weekend opener.
But for one signal-caller who knows Purdy’s situation all too well, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller Shaun King sent this suggestion to the 49ers rookie via compare.bet:
“So I’m giving him a piece of advice: Stick your finger down your throat after the first series and make yourself heave,” King told Kyle Odegard on Thursday, January 19. “I’ve done it, and for whatever reason it shocks your body back to normalcy.”
King Had His Own ‘Purdy’ Moment
For NFL fans who recall the name, King was once a little-known rookie quarterback in 1999 who had to handle the signal-caller reins due to injuries.
The former Tulane Green Wave quarterback had to take over for first round selection Trent Dilfer because of an injury. King ended up going 6-1 as a starter before he shared the same field with future Hall of Famer Kurt Warner and the eventual Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams.
But before that NFC championship game tilt, King recalled having his own nerves before his first playoff snaps against Washington in the divisional round.
“I was watching him in the Seattle (wild card) game and he was going through the same thing I went through, and it was kind of an out-of-body experience,” King shared. “I never was a guy who got nervous. Anxiety never bothered me. But then I got in my first playoff start against Washington, and I’m telling you, in that first series I couldn’t even feel my body. I was moving and doing stuff, but I didn’t feel like I was in control. And he was going through the same thing. He couldn’t control where that ball was going. If it was supposed to go left it was going right.”
When Jimmy Garoppolo went down, there were fans who wondered if Purdy would manage to adjust taking over for a playoff contender late in the season as an emergency option. King’s former head coach with the Bucs Tony Dungy, though, reminded one fan of his past quarterback.
“In 1999 I was with the Bucs and our first two QBs got hurt. We inserted rookie Shaun King into the lineup. He did a great job. We relied on run game and defense and won 6 straight—went to the NFC Championship game. 49ers and Brock Purdy can do the same thing,” the NFL Hall of Famer Dungy said on December 5 following the Garoppolo injury.
Purdy looked shaky early against the Seattle Seahawks by going 1-of-3 on the first drive. But then he eventually settled — throwing for 332 yards in the 41-23 rout. Purdy ended up hitting seven different 49er receivers, averaged 11.1 yards per completion, threw three touchdowns, was sacked once and ended with a QB rating of 131.5.
Purdy Facing Different Situation Compared to Other Young QBs
Purdy is the lone rookie starting QB in these playoffs — as every other signal-caller is either in season two or, in the case of Patrick Mahomes, their sixth season.
King, though, tells Odegard that Purdy’s situation is not like what Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields faced — as past rookie quarterbacks walking into a season of low expectations. King and Purdy walked into scenarios where expectations were high and it was “Super Bowl or bust” inside the locker room.
“This is a whole different situation, and that’s why he and my journeys are similar,” King explained. “San Francisco feels like, if they get plus quarterback play, they have a hell of a shot to win a championship. Tampa felt the same way. I’ve never met him, but personality-wise I think me and Brock are similar, like super internally confident. Just like him, I had never failed. That part of the stress apparatus was not a part of me, because I had never failed at (the NFL) level.”
Purdy will soon face a Dallas Cowboys pass defense that surrendered the eighth fewest passing yards during the regular season, but allowed 351 yards and two touchdown passes to Tom Brady and the Bucs in the Cowboys’ road playoff win.