Brock Purdy’s Cinderella run after being Mr. Irrelevant in this year’s draft has been one of the more feel-good stories this season. He is undefeated as a starter and now has two playoff wins under his belt. But both of those wins were at home and he hasn’t played in an atmosphere like Philadelphia yet.
The Eagles have been the team to beat in the NFC for most of the season, save for Jalen Hurts’ shoulder injury in recent weeks. They routed the Giants 38-7 last week and will host the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game this weekend.
Purdy has had success thus far, but that could all come crashing down in Philadelphia.
Carl Dukes and Jason La Canfora of the Audacy Original Podcast “In The Huddle” talked about the NFC Championship Game and if Purdy is prepared for the atmosphere in Philadelphia.
“Brock Purdy’s played two road games. One was at Seattle, which is a team they know very well and they had Seattle’s number all year. The other was at the Raiders, which was basically a 49ers home game because that’s what happens there,” La Canfora said (3:45 in player above). “This is a whole nother level.”
Purdy led the 49ers to victories in both of those road games, but perhaps they were closer than they should have been. San Francisco won 21-13 in Seattle and it took overtime for the 49ers to win in Las Vegas.
La Canfora pointed out that Purdy looked bad under pressure against the Cowboys, and that’s going to be an even bigger issue against this Eagles’ defensive line.
“These dudes have 75 sacks including the playoffs. Man, that’s going to be a problem,” he said. “That rotation up front is so deep. They get pressure inside. They get pressure off the edge. They get pressure with their safeties when they bring it. I just don’t think that’s good news for Brock Purdy.”
It’s not just the 49ers' offense that will be challenged by the Eagles, but their defense as well.
“The 49ers' defense has one fatal flaw: they can’t defend the deep ball,” La Canfora continued. “I think A.J. Brown had seven touchdowns this year of 25 yards or more. I just think that this defense is going to be leveraged by all the different ways the Eagles can beat them and I think it will expose their flaws… I just think this has the potential to get a little sideways.”
San Francisco has only lost four games this year, but the last two did go a bit sideways. The Falcons beat the 49ers 28-14 in Week 6 and Kansas City blew them out 44-23 the following week.
Purdy has had a relatively easy time on the road so far this season but a playoff road game in Philadelphia is a different animal.
“I feel like this is the first game – because the circumstances you’re talking about, Jason – being on the road, in Philly, the atmosphere,” Dukes said. “He’s gonna get booed from the time he steps out there three hours before the game starts and they might be throwing stuff at him. I don’t know if he’s prepared for what he’s about to experience.”
It’s going to be a raucous atmosphere at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon. We’ll see if Purdy is ready for it.
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