SANTA CLARA — Brock Purdy played it cool Thursday, stiff-arming an obvious storyline of seeking vengeance in Sunday’s return to Philadelphia, where his elbow injury triggered the 49ers’ NFC Championship Game loss 10 months ago.
“Am I going to go in there and get all sentimental, that I’ve come a long way? … Am I going into the game saying I want revenge? It’s not like that,” Purdy said.
Instead, Purdy shifted the focus toward the bigger picture and how the 49ers (8-3) need a win over the Eagles (10-1) for playoff ramifications, especially when it comes to avoiding another game in Philly this postseason.
His last visit went haywire only six snaps into the 49ers’ opening possession, when Purdy took a snap at midfield and had his right elbow struck by speedy Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick.
Reddick hasn’t reached out since then, nor did Purdy expect any well wishes in what has been arguably the NFL’s best comeback story this season.
“It’s just the game. It’s how it goes. You get hurt,” Purdy said.
He’s responded so well from his March 10 elbow repair that he leads NFL passers in multiple categories: 112.3 rating, 70.2 completion percentage, 9.4 yards per attempt. He’s thrown 19 touchdown passes and six interceptions. More pertinent to this Philadelphia encore, he has been sacked 21 times in 10 games, with two lost fumbles on those sacks (against the Steelers and the Bengals).
Purdy’s only stint on the 49ers’ injury report all season was a concussion in the Oct. 23 loss at Minnesota. He cleared NFL protocol and played six days later in the Oct. 29 defeat to the Bengals.
Whereas some players take an extra moment to themselves amid a comeback to a stadium where they were injured, Purdy said his approach won’t change.
“Usually every game, whenever I go in a stadium, I take a little moment to be thankful where I’m at and the game I’m about to play,” Purdy said. “None of that changes.”
After Purdy’s UCL was torn on the Reddick hit, backup Josh Johnson, left with a concussion on the fifth snap of the third quarter. Purdy returned for 16 snaps despite an inability to launch the ball longer than the 3- and 1-yard completions he pulled off with pain searing in his elbow.
“Yeah, we felt good about our game plan. Things obviously just didn’t go our way in terms of keeping the quarterback healthy. It’s hard to say what we’d do,” Purdy said. “In terms of our plan of attack, you go in feeling what you’re going to do is going to be good. We never got to that.”
When a Bay Area reporter shared with Purdy that some Philadelphia media consider him the 49ers’ weak link, Purdy responded: “First time I’ve heard that, so don’t know how I feel about that. If they think that, that’s fine. I’m playing quarterback for the 49ers and we have a good team. I’m trying to help them win.”
An additional hazard in Philadelphia, aside from the Eagles’ pass rush, are weather conditions. It could rain, and Purdy struggled in slick conditions in Cleveland, where he completed a season-low 44.4 percent of his passes (12-of-27, 125 yards, one touchdown, one interception) but still got the 49ers in position for a potential winning field goal.
“I’ve been through some situations with Brock, not just the game but practice, but I think he’s as good as any quarterback I’ve had in the rain,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He’s dealt with it a lot at Iowa State.”
At Iowa State, Purdy was coached by Matt Campbell who served on the same 2005 Mount Union staff as current Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, then just beginning his career as a defensive backs coach.
“We were all at Mount Union together. They’ve been talking about this guy for a long time,” Sirianni recalled this week to Philadelphia reporters. “He led (Iowa State) to the Fiesta Bowl. He’s a winner and continues to win. You saw that last year and what he’s doing this year.”
Sirianni has seen enough of Purdy to capture his strengths: “He’s got good athleticism, He knows where to go with the football in a timely fashion, and he’s accurate going there. Those are the things you want in a quarterback.”
Also working in Purdy’s favor is a level-headed, unselfish demeanor, which he’s drawing upon in this return.
“I mean, yeah, I got hurt there and everything. But to me, it’s Week 13, we’re going on the road in a hostile environment, it’s late in the season, so every game is obviously big for us. That’s where I’m at with my mindset,” Purdy said. “Am I going to go back and feel a certain way? No, none of that. It’s a new year, two new teams.”