On Saturday night against the Green Bay Packers, Brock Purdy faced challenges beyond his overall gameplay (save one notably impressive drive at the end). The San Francisco 49ers' second-year quarterback struggled with the rain and its impact on his grip of the football.
At one point, the FOX broadcast captured Purdy attempting to dry his hand in the middle of a dropback.
wild pic.twitter.com/dIrJgVMNrE
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 21, 2024
Purdy started the game with a glove on his throwing hand in an effort to secure a better grip. However, that didn't last long, as the quarterback quickly opted to take it off. After the game, he discussed the weather-related struggles.
"Early on, obviously, I put on the glove for the first drive," Purdy explained. "It was coming down, and then it sprinkled, so I took it off. So I was still trying to sort of figure out what I wanted to do, and I was sort of fed up with the glove, so I just obviously was throwing like I normally do.
"Yeah, there were some times where I'm dropping back, ball's a little wet from the grass, and sort of affected some accuracy and stuff. But, dude, that's football, so I got to be better in that area."
Purdy finished the game having completed 23 of his 39 pass attempts for 252 yards and a touchdown. While some of his passes may have been underwhelming, Purdy's late-game heroics helped propel the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game for the third consecutive season.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was proud of his quarterback's ability to persevere, saying, "Brock, he made some big plays in this game, missed a couple, but leading us down on that last drive and getting the win, that's all you can ask for."
Next weekend, San Francisco will host the winner of Sunday's game between the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.