The Brock Purdy naysayers were patting themselves on the back until the closing minutes of Saturday's Divisional Playoff game between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers. Until that point, Purdy and the offense struggled to establish a rhythm in what turned out to be a closer-than-expected showdown between the first and seventh seeds in the NFC.
Purdy helped engineer a game-winning 12-play, 69-yard drive that concluded with a six-yard touchdown run by Christian McCaffrey. During that final drive, Purdy completed six of his seven pass attempts, showcasing his playmaking ability with a clutch third-down completion to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and a nine-yard run that set up McCaffrey's score.
Purdy finished the game 23 of 39 for 252 yards and one touchdown, showing his critics that he is capable of late-game heroics.
"He is one of the sole reasons we're in this position that we are in today," tackle Trent Williams said in a post-game interview with FOX Sports Radio's Aaron Torres and Jason Martin. "We have so much confidence in him. He's such a good quarterback, such a good kid, such a good teammate."
The 49ers beat the Packers 24-21, advancing to the NFC Championship Game for the third consecutive season. Trailing 21-17 late in the fourth quarter, Purdy's teammates exhibited unwavering confidence in the second-year quarterback's ability to lead a comeback.
"I had zero doubt that he would make the plays that we needed to get us down the field," Williams added.
It's not just the offensive players who believe in Purdy's ability to move the team down the field during crucial moments. While defensive end Nick Bosa admits it's terrible watching from the sideline, feeling powerless when the offense is out there, he added, "But I definitely have faith in [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] and everybody on our offense to get it done."
The 49ers will host the NFC Championship Game at Levi's Stadium for the first time since the 2019 season. Reflecting on Saturday's performance against the Packers, Williams acknowledged the need for improvement down the stretch.
"We obviously got to play better than we did today, but we just got to keep fighting," Williams said. "And obviously, next week will be even harder of a game, no matter who we get. Whether it's Detroit or Tampa, it's going to be another dogfight. But what more would you want when you're trying to accomplish the end-all goal?
"You're so much more thankful for it when you earn it, and we had to go and earn this one, and I'm pretty sure we'll have to go earn the next one. So the whole goal is to get into that big dance, and we got another opportunity to do it."