The San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers faced off on a rain-soaked Levi's Stadium field on Saturday night, with the 49ers securing a 24-21 comeback victory. Quarterback Brock Purdy struggled to find rhythm in the less-than-ideal weather conditions, starting the game with a glove on his throwing hand but quickly opting to continue bare-handed.
"Early on, obviously, I put on the glove for the first drive," Purdy explained during the post-game press conference. "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."
Fortunately for the 49ers, Purdy figured things out during the closing minutes of the contest, orchestrating a game-winning 12-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a Christian McCaffrey touchdown run. Purdy completed six of his seven passes during the drive.
Purdy will likely face better weather conditions this weekend. Weather.com forecasts partly cloudy skies with a high of 72 degrees and a low of 53 degrees for Sunday's NFC Championship Game showdown between the 49ers and Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The temperature is expected to be in the mid-to-high 60s at the 3:30 p.m. PT kickoff time, with winds estimated to be between five to 10 miles per hour.
Sunday marks the 49ers' third consecutive NFC Championship Game appearance and the Lions' first appearance in the title game since 1991. San Francisco holds a 39-28-1 all-time record against Detroit, with the two teams splitting their only two playoff encounters (1957 and 1983 seasons).
The winner of Sunday's game at Levi's Stadium will advance to Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas to face the winner of the AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.
