“Mr. Irrelevant,” meet “Mr. Improbable.” While the Eagles and 49ers playing in the NFC Championship Game is no surprise, not even Nostradamus could foresee Brock Purdy and Jalen Hurts playing for a trip to Super Bowl LVI. But here we are.
Purdy was never supposed to see the field. The last player taken in the NFL Draft is rarely an impact player, especially at quarterback. But in reality, Hurts’ path to stardom is also surprising. It just took a little longer.
Hurts was supposed to be a backup. He was taken in the second round of the 2020 draft to sit behind Carson Wentz. The fans and media saw it as a wasted pick. Hurts won a national championship in 2017, but to some he’d always be the guy who was benched for Tua Tagovailoa in the next championship game.
When Hurts arrived in Philadelphia, Wentz was the unquestioned starter for a team three years removed from their first Super Bowl win. Nick Foles left for Jacksonville in 2019 as Philadelphia gave Wentz a four-year, $128 million contract extension that should have kept him in midnight green through 2024.
Wentz struggled mightily in 2020. In 12 games he led the league in interceptions, turnovers and sacks taken. Hurts took over for Wentz late in a Week 13 game against Green Bay. The team lost the game but Hurts remained the starter, going 1-3 to end the season.
Hurts opened the 2021 season as the full-time starter, but the results were mixed. He led the team to nine wins and a playoff berth, but he struggled with accuracy. His 61.3% completion percentage ranked him near the bottom of the league, just slightly above Sam Darnold (59.9%) and Drew Lock (60.4%). As a result, the team started hoarding first-round draft picks, just in case.
Philadelphia already spent one of those picks to trade for A.J. Brown. They still hold two first-round picks in the next draft, but it’s now obvious that neither will be used to move up for a quarterback.
With the win against Dallas, the 49ers have won 12 straight games, seven with Purdy under center. But it’s easy to forget that Hurts hasn’t lost a game since mid-November, winning seven starts in a row. One of these streaks will end next Sunday, which is a shame. Both players have exceeded expectations and deserve a shot to play in Arizona.
