The Cowboys and 49ers will renew their rivalry this weekend but it’s not exactly the quarterback matchup that they had back in the old days. Dak Prescott leads Dallas into San Francisco with “Mr. Irrelevant” Brock Purdy under center for the Niners.
Prescott is coming off one of the best games of his career with 305 yards and four touchdowns on 25 of 33 passing for a quarterback rating of 143.3 against the Buccaneers. Oh yeah, he also rolled out for a touchdown on one of his seven rushes for 24 yards.
Purdy had himself a day against Seattle as well with three touchdown passes in his first playoff game. He too ran for a touchdown in the 41-23 win over the Seahawks.
Many people around the NFL still aren’t sure what Purdy is, but it may not matter. He’s doing what he has to do to win and move on – and he’s looking good doing it.
Andrew Fillipponi and Danny Parkins of the Audacy Original Podcast “1st & Pod” debated how much better Prescott is than Purdy and if it really even matters given the teams’ makeups.
“What is Brock Purdy? Good enough,” Parkins exclaimed (5:41 in player above). “He is good enough in San Francisco with Aiyuk and Kittle and Deebo and McCaffrey and Shanahan and that offensive line to win and produce. It’s not like he’s Cooper Rush and there’s 100 yards of offense being generated and they’re just winning in spite of him. The guy had four touchdowns last week in a playoff game.
“I am just surprised at this ‘Brock Purdy isn’t good’ or ‘Is he good?’ We are seeing it! He’s good enough. He’s good enough in the situation that he’s in and that’s all I need to know.”
Purdy’s ability was questioned in his first few starts but he’s now thrown for multiple touchdown passes in seven games. He has 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions in that span.
“So I hear some of that but in terms of the question that you’re referring to that’s irritating you like is he working in San Francisco, is he playing well in the confines of Kyle Shanahan and all kinds of weapons and great defense for complementary football stuff? Yes,” Fillipponi said. But that still doesn’t answer the question that people are, to your point, having a really hard time with like it’s football’s rubik’s cube right now and that is in a vacuum what is this guy? Is he a product of the system or is he actually a good quarterback?
The 49ers are favored by around 3.5 points against the Cowboys this weekend. However, what might the line be if the quarterbacks were swapped?
“If Dak is in San Francisco and Purdy is Dallas’ quarterback the line’s close to 10,” Fillipponi opined. “There you go. That question, I think, is pretty black and white. Right now he’s still looked at as a guy who just benefits greatly from their offense. And he’s going to have a hard time shaking that really at any point in these playoffs.”
Purdy may not be able to shake the “system quarterback” tag in a single game – or single playoff run – but a Super Bowl appearance could change things.
“Stop. If they make the Super Bowl and he beats DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons and its defense that was top-10 all year, and then he goes to Philly and wins that game and produces?” Parkins said, returning to the quarterback debate.
“Dude, Dak Prescott led the league in turnovers this year. When you were saying that ‘flip the quarterbacks’ thing I thought you were going to say seven. I didn’t think you were going to say 10,” he continued. “I do not agree with you. I do not agree with you that Dak Prescott is six points better than Brock Purdy. I don’t.”
All eyes will be on this crucial NFC matchup this weekend when the 49ers host the Cowboys on Sunday.
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