The NFC playoff photo has been location up for a pair weeks now, and a matchup that has begun to appear inevitable is the Minnesota Vikings using on the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round, assuming the two teams make it that much.
However, all those ideas could commence to alter shortly as the 49ers have missing their beginning QB Jimmy Garoppolo for the relaxation of the year. Through the 49ers Week 13 matchup with the Miami Dolphins, Garoppolo suffered a damaged foot, which will formally conclusion his year.
In his stead, it was Brock Purdy, a rookie seventh-spherical decide on, that took his put for the remainder of the activity. Purdy played his university ball at Iowa Condition from 2018-2021, and he recorded 12,170 passing yards, 81 TDs, and 33 INTs over the class of 48 occupation game titles.
Heading into 7 days 13, Purdy experienced appeared in 3 video games, but the only time he threw passes was in Week 7’s reduction to the Kansas City Chiefs. In that sport, the rookie QB finished 4-of-9 passes for 66 yards and an interception.
On the other hand, this week Purdy performed fairly properly in relief of Garoppolo. In the 33-17 victory about the Dolphins, the seventh-spherical select done 25-of-37 passes for 210 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and an interception. Unless of course the Niners make your mind up to indication a cost-free agent this week, it seems that Purdy will be the starter for the rest of the 12 months.
All over this whole period, the QB place has been a matter of controversy for San Francisco. To begin with, this was for the reason that of Trey Lance, who the Niners chosen 3rd total in the 2021 NFL Draft even with possessing Jimmy Garoppolo on their roster.
Lance started the period as San Francisco’s starter, but he broke his ankle in 7 days 2 towards the Seattle Seahawks an harm that also ended his period. In came Garoppolo, and since then, he’s been the 49ers starting QB when again leading up to his very own season-ending harm.
It’s rare adequate for a person seventh-spherical rookie to discover his way into the starting up lineup, primarily at QB, but if the Vikings do conclusion up conference Purdy and the 49ers in the playoffs, it will basically be the 2nd time they’ve faced this sort of a QB. The initially arrived versus the Miami Dolphins in Week 5, who began Skylar Thompson versus Minnesota.
Both way, the street to and by way of the playoffs just received considerably more difficult for the 49ers, regardless of their 8-4 document. It also may possibly have gotten less difficult for the Vikings.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College or university of Idaho with a bachelor’s diploma in Resourceful Writing. He also earned minors in Record, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not producing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon schooling, actively playing video clip video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For a lot more of his viewpoints, verify out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.