Brock Purdy helped lead the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship Game as a rookie. If not for an injury to his throwing arm, they might have reached the Super Bowl in his first year. The following season, they returned to the NFC Championship Game—this time winning and securing a trip to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the 49ers fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime.
With so much early success, it would have been easy for Purdy to assume that deep playoff runs were the norm. However, how his veteran teammates reacted to the Super Bowl loss taught him a valuable lesson.
"Even playoffs—how big of a deal playoffs is, to get into the tournament," Purdy said on the Built 4 More podcast. "I remember Trent Williams talking about how important it was. His whole career in Washington, before he got to San Francisco, they never went to the playoffs. And so, when he came over, I think in like, 2021 (when he first made the playoffs with the 49ers) ... how grateful he is, like 12 years into this thing, that he even made the playoffs. And then, let alone the Super Bowl, two years ago, for all of us.
"As a rookie, I came in, we're one game away. My sophomore year, boom, we go to the Super Bowl, so I was spoiled. And then, last year, I found out the tough way. This ain't given every year. We didn't even make the playoffs, and things can happen."
The 49ers finished last season with just six wins, struggling with injuries and the wear and tear from consecutive deep playoff runs. The roster was depleted, and the team missed the postseason for the first time since 2020.
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However, it was the emotions of his veteran teammates after the Super Bowl loss that truly drove home how rare and special these opportunities are.
"After that game, just seeing guys that were crushed—[Kyle Juszczyk], [George] Kittle, Christian [McCaffrey], [Brandon] Aiyuk, Trent [Williams], Fred [Warner], all these guys—they all get how tough this thing is," Purdy said. "And so, going into the game, I think I was a little bit spoiled, thinking, okay, we got here. It wasn't easy, but I got here my second year.
"Where all these other guys were like, 'Dude, no, no, no, no. This thing, you gotta be grateful for it, and then go make the most of every play and opportunity, because there's no promises of ever getting back here.' I'm still trying to process all of it."
You can listen to Purdy's entire interview below.
