LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The screams and cheers of San Francisco 49ers fans echoed through Allegiant Stadium on Monday night as their team entered the field. As players settled into their spots to answer questions from the media, quarterback Brock Purdy looked at home under the bright lights of Las Vegas.
Las Vegas has played an interesting role in Purdy’s career. When the NFL Draft was held here in 2022, Purdy was the last player drafted, which is traditionally called Mr. Irrelevant.
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Since then, his career has skyrocketed and he said he’s not surprised because he’s always had faith that things work out in the end.
“I think my senior year, towards the end we’re getting ready for Clemson, the bowl game. I had an okay senior year and honestly, I’d call my dad and I was like I don’t know what my future looks like but I’m going to give it a shot, a shot for the NFL. If it works out, great. If not, I’m going to be okay. God’s going to take care of me. My dad told me to give it my best show. You never know what can happen. Sure enough, I get drafted late and,” Purdy said. “I was all in just in term of if I get drafted and I have an opportunity with the team, I’m going to give it my best shot. Being drafted last and then getting to where we are now and playing in the Super Bowl, something that didn’t look great initially can turn into something pretty beautiful.”
His first season, Purdy was playing behind Trey Lance and former 49ers quarterback and current Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
When those two were injured last season, Purdy stepped up and never looked back.
In order to get to Las Vegas, the 49ers faced close battles against the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions. When facing Detroit, San Francisco was down 24-7 at halftime.
“The last Sunday, I couldn’t even talk. My hands were drenched in sweat. My body was shaking. I was just so furious like how are we losing this game and I was like I ain’t going out like this,” wide receiver Deebo Sweeney said. “In my head, I was like Kyle, bring the team up. He was talking to the team like we got to go out here and put it on the line for the next man beside us.”
That’s exactly what San Francisco did and the team managed to pull off a comeback win, 34-31, to earn another trip to the Super Bowl. Tight end George Kittle said he wasn’t surprised since the team has been fighting through obstacles all season.
“To have a game where you have to fight back, it’s awesome. I mean, we were told the entire season that hey, you guys can’t come back. You never come back to win a game. So we just wanted to test that out in playoffs. Not a better time for it. Right,” Kittle said smiling. “It was good for us to get a win, good for the entire team to go through that stuff and hopefully, to start out a bit faster moving on. It’s hard to win in the NFL. It’s not easy and you want to celebrate them but it’s just like we had this business mindset the entire year. It’s like what’s the next job? What’s the next mission? Go do it.”
It’s a rematch of the Super Bowl LIV but Kansas City won that battle 31-20. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said he’s ready for the challenge and to face them again.
“We’ve got a great team right now just like we did in ’19. There’s a number of players that were here then that are now but every team is different. The main thing is to get to this point you could have a great offense, a great defense, a great special teams. We had that last time. I feel like we have it this time and so do the Chiefs,” Shanahan said. “You want smart people who’ve got good personal skills but the biggest thing is getting people who can work with you and your staff and understand what you’re saying. I like our chances.”
And for the players, it’s the 49ers culture that Shanahan has built that inspires them to play hard every day.
“We love playing for Coach Shanahan. He is kind of hard on us sometimes but that’s the way he is. He loves the game. He loves to coach us hard. He wants us to be the best we can be as well as him being the best coach he can be,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said. “We want to get a ring for him. That’s what we’re going to go out there and do this Sunday. We’re going to put our best foot forward and we’re going to win that game for him.”
OTHER FUN FACTS FROM OPENING NIGHT:
- Which Hogwarts houses would 49ers players be sorted into?
“Let’s see. Shanahan would be a Ravenclaw. I feel like we have the character to all be in Gryffindor but I don’t want to say that because that’s just boring,” Kittle said. “Let’s put Christian in Slytherin. Bosa’s Gryffindor. Brock Purdy, Hufflepuff. I just answered a lot of Harry Potter quiz questions a couple of weeks ago with my mom and wife. We watch all eight movies every Christmas. Those are my Christmas movies. 10 out 10. Fantastic.”
- What does Kittle think about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson calling him “The People’s Tight End”?
“I’m indebted to The Rock. I’m a huge fan of him. I’m also a huge Cody Rhodes fan,” Kittle said. “Honestly, my dream would be kind of a setup where Roman [Reigns] shows up, signs a contact. Cody’s on the other side. The Rock referees. Wouldn’t that be fun and special? That would be fun and interesting. That’s not my own idea but I thought it was really cool.”
- Who are the best golfers on the 49ers?
“I’m not very good,” running back Christian McCaffrey said laughing. “I think you know who’s really good is Trent Williams can golf. We got him hooked. We were in Cabo this offseason and he played like every day for the next few months. He’s actually a hell of a player. George is a funny player to play with. Juice is pretty good. Sam Darnold can play. Brandon Allen can play. We’ve got a good amount of golfers on the team. Well, George will shoot like a 130 but he putts from anywhere. Every time I’ve played with George, he’ll hit like a 125-foot putt like it’s nothing, every single time.”
- Which NFL player talks the most trash?
“Best trash talker in the league? Travis Kelce. I feel like he’s a real good trash talker for sure,” Ward said.
- If Nick Bosa had another career, what would it be?
“I think I might get into the culinary industry. Maybe a chef,” Bosa said. “I like everything. I like trying new stuff. I love Mediterranean food.”
- What types of books does Bosa like to read?
“I like to read history. This is probably the least reading I’m doing is at this time of year, just because of how busy we are. The off-season is when I really put down some books,” Bosa said. “But history. I like fiction. I kind of get recommendations from people and just let it go. I’m reading “12 Rules Of Life” right now so that’s a good one. I honestly get motivation from reading about like the Founding Fathers and stuff and just how much they accomplished as such young ages and how hardened they were from life experience.”
