Watch out, NFL playoff teams. The San Francisco 49ers' rookie quarterback doesn't believe his team has reached its full potential yet. That's scary, considering the Niners finished the season with a 13-4 record after winning 10 consecutive games. The team struggled early on both sides of the ball against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 18 but took control on the way to a 38-13 rout.
"When you're on a roll, you're on a win streak, you feel like the groove, and how we're playing together, it feels really good when we're on it," Brock Purdy told reporters after the game. "I think a lot of us are real with ourselves, too, though. I feel like we still haven't played to our full potential yet. So we look at it as a challenge, but we're also excited because if we do play to our full potential, what else can we do?
"Those are the kinds of things that we ask ourselves every day, and we're excited about, but I'm excited moving forward [from] being on a win streak."
Purdy is playing because the team's previous starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, suffered a broken foot during Week 13. Garoppolo had replaced starter Trey Lance, who sustained a season-ending ankle injury during Week 2.
Purdy finished the season 114-of-170 for 1,374 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. Not bad for a rookie. He is 5-0 as a starter and was a big reason why the 49ers won the Week 13 contest he entered after Garoppolo went down.
The 49ers averaged 22.6 points per game in their first 11 contests. In their final six, that average jumped to 33.5 points per game.
San Francisco got two playmakers back in Week 18. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel and running back Elijah Mitchell were suited up and played against the Cardinals. Samuel caught two passes for 20 yards and carried the football once for four yards. Mitchell led the team with an impressive 55 rushing yards on just five carries.
Mitchell had not played since Week 12. Samuel has been out since Week 14. Both figure to be key contributors in the postseason, making the 49ers even more dangerous.
"It was good to get some work in with Deebo today," Purdy said. "Elijah, getting his reps. So once we're all in rhythm and in sync, then I feel like we can play to our full potential. So I feel like today we got a little glimpse of it, but definitely some room to improve. But I'm excited for all of them to be healthy going into the playoffs. It's going to be fun."
There isn't pressure for Purdy to do it on his own. He knows how talented his team is and understands that he is just a piece in the puzzle that could reveal a championship picture once everything is said and done.
"Right now, it's like I have so many playmakers around me, I feel like I don't have all the weight of the world on my shoulders to make something up or plays," Purdy noted. "Kyle calls a great game plan. I've just got to go through my progression, throw checkdowns to guys like Deebo and [RB] Christian [McCaffrey], and they make guys miss. For me, it's nice. I've just got to distribute it to the guys, and then they come up with all the yards and stuff, which is fun to watch."
