Brock Purdy surely will never forget his first NFL start, for reasons more than one.
First and foremost, Purdy played well in the 49ers’ sixth consecutive win, completing 16 of 21 pass attempts for 185 yards with a pair of touchdown passes at Levi’s Stadium. The efficient performance came at the expense of Tom Brady, whose Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked like a deeply flawed team in their 28-point loss not far from where the legendary quarterback grew up.
After the game, Purdy didn’t try to sound too cool for school about his exchange with Brady. The last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft was grateful for the moment he shared with arguably the greatest football player of all time.
“Man, yeah, it was surreal,” Purdy told reporters, per a clip shared by NBC Sports. “Just standing there like, ‘Man, that’s Tom Brady,’ you know? Talking to guys and dapping guys up and stuff. So, for him to have respect for what I did today was pretty cool. I’m not gonna lie. Being a little kid watching that guy kill it throughout all these years, won Super Bowls. To be able to even give him a high-five or whatever at the end, I thought that was pretty cool.”
Purdy wasn’t the only 49ers player who was able to spend some time with Brady after the Week 14 contest. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw went into “fangirl” mode as he successfully received an autograph from the seven-time Super Bowl champion.
San Francisco will quickly have to put all of this in the rearview though, as a significant road matchup with the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks awaits Thursday night. The Bucs, meanwhile, will be hard-pressed to get back to .500 on Sunday when they host the red-hot Cincinnati Bengals.
