‘Compelling aura’ – Brock Purdy makes puzzling history on SNF in one-seed race

It was Brock Purdy’s world on Sunday Night Football.

The San Francisco 49ers’ franchise quarterback has been on fire lately, playing the best football of his career, and has the team just one win away from avoiding the road entirely in the playoffs.

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Last week, he threw five touchdown passes against the Indianapolis Colts, and this week on SNF, he picked up right where he left off.

Purdy went 24-of-33 for 303 yards, threw three passing touchdowns, added two rushing touchdowns, and, ironically, threw a pick-six on the very first play of the game.

That stat line made him the first quarterback in 49ers history to throw for over 300 yards, pass for three touchdowns, and rush for two more in a single game.

After that opening play, it was lights out for Purdy and the 49ers, who captured a dramatic 42-38 win over the Chicago Bears.

He was hitting the Dougie all over the Chicago defense. The former last pick of the 2023 draft even made NFL history in an unusual way.

Under the lights at Levi’s Stadium, Purdy became the first quarterback ever to record a pick-six, a rushing touchdown, and a passing touchdown all before the first quarter ended.

Even his history-making feats carry a certain cool, despite the negative play. And the internet has taken notice.

“Purdy is in the zone. He’s toying with us,” Barstool Big Cat, and noted Bears fan, fan posted on X.

“Purdy is ballin tonight,” another fan commented.

“Mr. Irrelevant—the last pick in his draft class—Brock Purdy carries a bizarrely compelling aura,” more continued to chime in.

“Purdy. Nuclear,” one more fan simply stated.

Both teams entered the matchup having booked their tickets in the NFC playoffs, but the Bears—who clinched the NFC North after the Green Bay Packers‘ loss to the Baltimore Ravens—and the 49ers were both still in hunt for the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC.

After the Seattle Seahawks won 27-10 against the Carolina Panthers, these hopes were boosted with each team looking to climb to a 12-4 record on the season with one game left to play.

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The Bears have clinched the No. 1 seed only three times in their history: 1985 (when they won the Super Bowl), 1988, and 2006. They’ll have to wait at least another year to earn it for a fourth time.

With the win, San Francisco sets up a winner-take-all showdown next Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks—not just for the NFC West crown, but for the No. 1 seed.

Caleb Williams treading toward Bears history

Entering the contest, Caleb Williams needed 600 yards from his final two games to become the first Bears quarterback to eclipse the 4,000-yard passing mark.

On Sunday night, he finished 25-of-42 for 330 yards and two touchdowns, nothing to slouch at, but came up just short on the final play of the game.

He now needs just 109 passing yards in the final game of the regular season to break Erik Kramer’s 30-year-old franchise record of 3,838 yards.

And will need exactly 300 more yards to become the first Bears quarterback to surpass 4,000 passing yards in a season.

Ahead of the game, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke very highly of Williams and said, “Caleb is one of the best throwers, most athletic quarterbacks I’ve ever seen in terms of his height, weight, and speed.

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“He makes some big-time throws, is extremely scary on the perimeter, can hold onto the ball for a while—not in a bad way but by creating stuff which makes coverages have to hold up forever.

“When you have a talented guy like that, who’s got the speed and the size, usually they get a run game, get some bootlegs, and play-actions off of it. You limit how many times you’ve got to drop back, and it makes sense why he’s playing at such a high level.”

The inspiring effort from San Francisco

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For San Francisco, this season has been nothing short of a war of attrition.

A war they’ve somehow been winning despite key injuries. Losing defensive stalwarts Nick Bosa and Fred Warner hasn’t fazed them, and missing their starting quarterback for six games in the middle of the season didn’t either.

Instead, Shanahan kept his team focused, fueled by a relentless ‘next man up’ mentality.

Sure, it helps to have Christian McCaffrey doing what he does best, both on the ground and through the air, serving as the team’s undisputed catalyst.

And yes, the defense isn’t great, but it’s still been a collective effort from everyone to not only stay afloat but remain in the race for the top seed in the NFC until the very end.

Teach ’em how to Dougie, Brock.

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