49ers quarterback Brock Purdy ran to the sideline 45 minutes before start to meet his loved ones. He paused warmups before the team's Week 15 triumph against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium to embrace family and kiss his fiancée, Jenna.
Purdy made his professional debut in Arizona, where he grew up less than an hour away. Because it showed two sides of Purdy, the social media moment went viral.
According to Purdy, 24, what everyone observed was happening. “Yeah,” Purdy told NBC Sports Bay Area in an exclusive "49ers Talk." interview. “I saw it afterward and thought, ‘Man, I didn’t realize I did that,’ but it is true.”
The footage showed Purdy smiling and taking a family shot. His face went expressionless when he turned to return to the field.
“Obviously, we’re in uniform getting ready to warm up and get ready for the game, and I stopped by and saw my family and showed some love,” Purdy said. “Then I started thinking about our opening plays we'll run. So I adopted that mindset.”
Purdy shattered 49ers team records with 4,280 passing yards and a 113.0 quarterback rating in his Pro Bowl season, returning home triumphantly. Purdy threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-29 win over the Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona.
“It’s real,” Purdy added. “You seem to be playing for the world. Mentally unprepared, you'll be exposed. The NFL. That's how the game works and is.
I think you have to be sharp every play and know what you're doing. In that moment, I was back in football mindset, thinking, "I got to be a surgeon."