The Detroit Lions have captured the attention of fans and media from around the country this week as they head into Sunday's NFC Championship against the San Francisco 49ers (6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT, FOX) with hopes of reaching their first ever Super Bowl, but the 49ers have an underdog story of their own that could find a happy ending if they can come out of the game with a win.
The story of quarterback Brock Purdy has been discussed at length since his unexpected emergence last season but is perhaps being overshadowed a bit this week given the fact the Lions are in their first NFC Championship game since January 12, 1992 and their second overall. The 49ers, on the other hand, will remarkably be making their NFL-record 19th appearance in the NFC Championship out of 54 games and are favored to reach their eighth Super Bowl on Sunday, so there isn't much underdog appeal surrounding them as a team at the moment. But when it comes to Purdy, he'll have the opportunity to do something improbable in his own right that an elbow injury cost him the chance to accomplish last season.
As a seventh-round draft pick and the final player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy entered the lineup late in the 2022 regular season due to injuries to quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo and unexpectedly led the 49ers to the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles last season as a third-string rookie. But there was no storybook ending for Purdy in that game, as he was sent to the sidelines with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and the 49ers went on to lose to the Eagles 31-7.
Purdy went through an offseason full of rehab and put together a quality performance in 2023 that earned him a frontrunner spot in MVP discussions before a four-interception performance in a Christmas Day loss to the Baltimore Ravens pushed him to the middle of the pack. Now, after overcoming an up-and-down performance last weekend to lead the 49ers on a game-winning drive in their 24-21 NFC Divisional Round win over the Green Bay Packers, Purdy will get another shot on Sunday to go from being the last player picked in the draft to being one of the starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl.
Purdy isn't exactly dwelling on what happened a year ago as this week's game approaches, but there's little question he's itching to get the opportunity to finish what he started last season.
"This is obviously where we wanted to get to as a team, and that's first and foremost," Purdy told reporters before the 49ers' practice on Wednesday. "And obviously I'm excited that we're here. Last year's last year. That was its own game. It hasn't been anything that has bled into this year or this game. This is the 49ers against the Lions now. So it's a new year, new approach I feel like, just in terms of playing their defense and their scheme, not thinking about last year or anything. So for me, obviously I got hurt last year and it sucked. That was part of the game. Going into this game, I'm healthy, I feel good, and I think for all of us, we're obviously hungry and want to get to the next game after. So we've got to handle business and take it one play at a time and allow everything to happen for a reason."
The experience has been a different one this time around for Purdy, who unlike last season has been under center for the 49ers since Week 1. Being a full-time starter on a playoff team has meant something a little extra.
"I've obviously played more games this year and stuff compared to last year and so to help this team from the beginning all the way to the end to get to where we are now, for me it's a little different," Purdy said. "Obviously that's been our goal. And now to say that 'Okay, I actually helped our team,' that's cool, where last year I got thrusted in and we had a good team. We were rolling. And not to take away anything that happened last year, but it sort of does feel a little different because you went through so many highs and lows this year and now to get to where we are, it's like, 'Okay, it feels pretty good.'
"But at the same time, this has been this organization's and team's mindset long before I even got here and what they've been building here in terms of doing what it takes to get to a championship. So I'm just another key part of that and I'm just doing my job as best as I can week in and week out, and here we are."
Despite everything he's accomplished to this point, Purdy will enter this week's game with his share of critics and doubters, who continue to compare him unfavorably to the league's other top quarterbacks. Some of them may still continue to not give Purdy his due even if he goes on to win a Super Bowl, but that doesn't matter much to his teammates and coaches, who credit Purdy for getting them back to the NFC Championship game.
"I'm not really talking or focused on his critics," 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk said Wednesday. "We're all sitting here because of him, obviously."
Aiyuk put up career numbers in 2023 with Purdy as his quarterback, catching 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns. With wide receiver Deebo Samuel battling a shoulder injury, Aiyuk may need to have a standout performance this Sunday -- which he thinks Purdy can help him deliver.
"(He's) steady. (A) dawg. Just a football player," Aiyuk said of his quarterback. "I love playing football with him, and he's the reason why I'm sitting here today feeling like I have opportunity this weekend to play my best football -- because of a quarterback like him."
The Lions come into Levi's Stadium on Sunday with confidence and momentum after home wins over the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Round. Purdy deserves praise for helping the 49ers come out on top against the Packers ("It would have been impossible to win the game without him," head coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday), but he knows he and the offense will have to be more consistent if they want to beat the Lions and avoid falling into a hole like they did against Green Bay.
"I feel like just for us on offense we got to obviously put up points," Purdy said. "They have a good offense. We respect their defense a lot and what they do, they've had a lot of success this year and obviously the last couple of games they've been playing really well. So for us, it's don't turn the ball over, put up some points like we have this year. Let our defense do their thing and try to win the momentum throughout the game. I feel like this game is going to come down to momentum and whoever has that I think has a good chance of winning the whole thing."
There's no question the Lions will be hungry and motivated this week given the obstacles they've overcome, but Purdy and the 49ers will be as well. For Purdy, a win would mean erasing what happened a year ago while also adding another feather in his cap. But while those things would be nice, he's thinking more about what it would mean for the organization, who be looking to get a chance to win their sixth Super Bowl after falling short in 2012 and 2019 while also cashing in on a window of opportunity for a talented group of veterans that might not remain open for too much longer.
"We want this game bad and they've obviously been hoping to have another championship come in this organization," Purdy said. "Last couple of times we've been in the Super bowl we've fallen short. So now we get a shot at it again. So to play at home in the NFC championship, it's going to be sweet."