San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is 2-0 against the Seattle Seahawks after facing them once in Week 15 of the 2022 season and then again during Wild Card weekend. As he gears up for Thursday's Thanksgiving Day game at Lumen Field, the second-year pro is putting the previous two clashes with Seattle behind him and treating this 2023 edition of the Seahawks as an entirely new opponent.
"Obviously, it's a new year. The situation of this game is a little different. The personnel is a little different," Purdy said. "They have guys we haven't faced, so there is all that in play. I think it's different for sure. That's how I'm looking at it, and the reality of it.
"They're a good team, so we're not going in thinking we beat these guys however many times before. It isn't like that. This is a new game, new team, and that's how we're looking at it."
One of the new and notable personnel Purdy and the 49ers offense will have to contend with is first-round pick cornerback Devon Witherspoon. He's made a splash in his rookie year, amassing 52 total tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, an interception returned for a touchdown and 13 passes defended.
"He's a good player. He is all around the ball," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "When you study the run game, you see him a lot. When you study first and second down, you see him a lot. When you get to third down and watch coverages, you see him a lot. It's every aspect of the game that he has an impact on. He's a really good football player, who is also extremely talented."
One thing the second-year quarterback can glean from his previous trip to Seattle is the experience of playing in a roaring stadium filled with enthusiastic Seahawks fans.
"It's a great environment, hostile environment, and so it's just more about being on top of your details, the pre-snap operation, speaking clearly in the huddle, breaking the huddle on time, making sure we're all on the right page with the snap points and all that stuff," Purdy said. "It's crucial, especially when you're in that kind of environment. There are a lot of easy ways to get distracted, and that crowd is obviously going to do what they can to try to get us offbeat. It's one of those games where every single play matters. Everybody has to be paying attention to detail because if not, you'll slip up and it won't be pretty."
"It's real valuable. I mean, he's been to some loud places too, but Seattle is always right there as the loudest, if not tied for it," Shanahan said. "You can always tell people how loud it is, but they don't know until they go there, and he went there so he knows what we're talking about. I don't have to stress the importance of it to him."
