Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy has proven a lot in his six appearances for the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers seventh-round draft pick got the nod in Week 13 after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a fractured foot. Since taking over, he's reached historic levels of production for his team and remains undefeated through five starts, a feat no other franchise quarterback has accomplished to date.
Purdy is also the only quarterback in NFL history to win his first five starts and throw two-or-more touchdowns in each of those five starts. Additionally, he's recorded 100+ passer rating games in four of his six games under center.
"He's playing solid," head coach Kyle Shanahan said following the 49ers 38-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals. "He's one of the reasons that we've been doing this well the last month, and guys around him are playing at a high level. I'm really happy with Brock."
On Saturday, San Francisco's QB1 is set to hit another 49ers first. His upcoming start versus the Seattle Seahawks in Super Wild Card Weekend will mark the first time in franchise history a rookie quarterback has started in a playoff game.
"I feel great. I feel like everyone else is feeling great," Purdy said. "When you're on a roll, you're on a win streak, you feel like, man, the groove and how we're playing together, it feels really good when we're on it. 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."
Confidence in Purdy is at an all-time high as the team gears up for the postseason, not just from his head coach but from teammates as well.
"As soon as he got into the game, he was our guy," offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey. "No matter what you are, rookie, five-year vet, 10-year vet, 15-year vet, doesn't matter, if you're the starting quarterback, you have to do the starting quarterback's job and that's what he's done."
Per Shanahan, prepping Purdy for Seattle means changing nothing at all to the regular season routine. The only thing that's different in the playoffs is that the it's a one-and-done elimination format.
"I feel like our mentality is, we've been playing playoff games for a long time, and the pressure's always on," Shanahan said. "Brock takes that into every game. And this game, if you want to sit and think about all the outside stuff, I'm sure you could psych yourself out. The only thing I would say through experience of it is once you get on the field, there's absolutely nothing different. Whether it's a playoff game, whether it's the Super Bowl, all you can do is control the athletic sporting event that you're involved in. Don't make it more than that."
