Brock Purdy’s epic comeback etches his name in 49ers lore as Detroit’s hero Jared Goff is left wondering what could have been

Brock Purdy waited for the better part of three days to hear his name called dead last in the 2022 NFL Draft. It earned him the less-than-complimentary designation of ’Mr. Irrelevant’ – given to the last player taken in each year’s draft.

Brock Purdy waited for the better part of three days to hear his name called dead last in the 2022 NFL Draft. It earned him the less-than-complimentary designation of ’Mr. Irrelevant’ – given to the last player taken in each year’s draft. The names on that list are often forgotten. On Sunday, he joined a new one that will redefine his legacy: Joe Montana, Steve Young, Colin Kaepernick, Jimmy Garoppolo, Brock Purdy – the quarterbacks who have led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl. Purdy defeated the Detroit Lions and their quarterback Jared Goff in a battle of two field generals who could not have had more different starts to their careers but seemed to walk a similar path to get to the NFC Championship Game. Goff – a Bay Area native who grew up about 70 miles from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara – had taken his own long road to one of the sport’s biggest stages, bringing the traditionally moribund Lions to one of their best seasons in team history, becoming a folk hero in the Motor City in the process. As recently as two years ago, no one would have bet that Purdy and Goff would be leading their teams out for a chance to play for the Super Bowl. Few people outside of the Bay Area and Ames, Iowa – home of Purdy’s alma mater, Iowa State University – would have even known who he was. Now, he’s a 49ers legend in the making. Purdy not only carried his team to the Super Bowl but did so in historic style after leading one of the biggest comebacks in NFC Championship game history by overcoming a 17-point halftime deficit to top the Detroit Lions 34-31 and send his team to Las Vegas to play the Kansas City Chiefs.