Over the course of the last year, Brock Purdy has become one of the most polarizing quarterbacks in football. Depending on your perspective, the San Francisco 49ers’ signal-caller is either an MVP candidate or a mere product of Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system — with little room for any type of nuance in between.
On Sunday, both sides of the Purdy debate were on full display. After San Francisco found itself down 24-7 at halftime of the NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions, the 49ers rallied to win the game 34-31 — thanks in part to the play of their second-year quarterback.
Speaking to CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson on the field after the game, 49ers star defensive end Nick Bosa was asked about Purdy’s play. And the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year proceeded to take aim at the critics of the Iowa State product, who completed 20 of his 31 pass attempts for 267 yards and a touchdown, while adding 48 rushing yards in San Francisco’s Super Bowl-clinching win.
“I don’t pay attention to the media much, but whoever’s talking s*** about Brock Purdy,” Bosa said, before literally biting his tongue in clear restraint, “what do you have now?”
But after being asked what message Purdy sent with his performance on Sunday, Bosa made it clear that he does pay at least some attention to what’s being discussed in the media.
“He’s the best game-manager in the league,” the Ohio State product said with a smile.
While many have labeled Purdy as a “game-manager,” the most prominent person to do so, ironically, wasn’t a traditional media member, but rather, Cam Newton. During an episode of his 4th & 1 podcast, the 2015 NFL MVP explained the difference between quarterbacks he sees as difference-makers and game-managers.
“These are game-managers, they’re not difference-makers,” Newton said of Purdy, Dak Prescott, Tua Tagovailoa and Jared Goff. “If we’re really going to call a spade a spade, there’s a difference between managers of the game and difference-makers of a game. That’s not to say they can’t win the MVP, but it just is what it is.”
While Newton insisted he wasn’t using the term derisively, the discussion regarding Purdy’s “game-manager” status has since become a staple of sports talk radio — and will likely remain so in the two-week build to Super Bowl LVIII. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait until next week’s Super Bowl media day to learn where Bosa stands on the subject.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.