Brock Purdy is not why the San Francisco 49ers lost Super Bowl 58. Most people would agree with that assessment. The second-year quarterback's statistics might not be enough to sway the opinions of his critics, who have labeled Purdy as a "game manager" since his first start. However, it was certainly enough to beat the Kansas City Chiefs had the 49ers played something closer to mistake-free football.
Purdy threw for 4,280 passing yards, setting a new single-season franchise record. He was a finalist for the league's coveted MVP award. He led two comeback victories in the postseason. On Tuesday, during the team's final meeting of the season, Purdy learned his teammates voted him the Len Eshmont Award recipient, an honor bestowed on the player who best exemplifies inspirational and courageous play.
"What an honor, for sure, for having my own teammates and brothers be able to vote me for that award is huge," Purdy said. "Yeah, what an honor, man. And honestly, it's a testament, obviously, to the guys around me. It's not all me, and I've come in and done this. I've had so much help around me and so many good guys around me to help get to where I'm at.
"So, love my boys, and obviously, I wear my heart on my sleeve for them and got to learn from what we just went through this year, and I want to do it again next year and win it."
Among those teammates who hold great respect for the young quarterback is one of the best players in football, running back Christian McCaffrey.
"I think what he did was historic and unbelievable," McCaffrey said. "I think people know he was a rookie quarterback that was the last pick of the draft, and came in midway through a season, and then had to get elbow surgery in the offseason. So his real first year of starting in the NFL, he didn't throw football [to one of us] until training camp ... So it's pretty impressive what he managed to do, and then to be the MVP of our team was pretty incredible. Lucky he's on our team."
Shanahan expressed pride in his 24-year-old quarterback's efforts to win the Super Bowl for the 49ers, once again giving his all for his team.
"I thought Brock was unbelievable," Shanahan said. "I mean, everyone has plays in a game, every single person, that you want to take back. But Brock not turning the ball over in that game, making a number of plays ... at the very end of the game, to take us down to take the lead.
"We didn't get it done, so all of us, obviously, could have done another thing. But I was real happy with how Brock played [in the Super Bowl] and real happy with how he played this year. And I thought Brock was unbelievable. I mean, one of the most impressive seasons I've been around for a football player and a quarterback, and he was just a stud through it all."
Purdy and the 49ers will use this offseason to improve, aiming to mount another determined charge toward the Super Bowl next season.