When Caleb Williams shared these sentiments last week, he seemed to believe them.
The Chicago Bears had just won an overtime thriller against the Green Bay Packers. A primetime matchup with another NFC playoff team, the San Francisco 49ers, was looming.
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Williams was asked if he gets “individual joy” from leading a team to the playoffs. So he explained.
“I wasn’t the biggest, I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the biggest, I wasn’t the fastest, whatever it was,” Williams said. “I’m drafted here, I’m told I’m not a special player. I’m told I’m not a good fit here. I’m told Coach and I won’t work. I’m told I can’t win here.
“I know it’s going to continue. But I take a little satisfaction and things like that, being able to help this team…get to the playoffs.”
The perspective was striking.
Williams was the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by a Bears team confident enough in its selection to essentially begin collaborating with its quarterback before taking the clock.
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Williams has long been the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft when he turned pro, with the question being more about When the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner would choose to win his first overall crown rather than if.
Niners quarterback Brock Purdy and Bears quarterback Caleb Williams represent the ends of the NFL Draft spectrum. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Thearon W. Henderson via Getty Images)
And yet: Whether because he was determined to put a chip on his shoulder or because he’s still dealing with the instability of his first year (hello, two head coaches and three offensive coordinators), Williams framed his role in the Bears’ first playoff berth in five years as a feat of overcoming obstacles.
“My goal is not just to make the playoffs,” Williams said. “My goal is to win and win big.”
The Niners’ 42-38 victory Sunday shouldn’t change expectations for Williams, who totaled 348 yards of offense and two scores. But the matchup between the first overall pick in one draft and the last overall pick in another highlighted once again how remarkable Brock Purdy’s journey is.
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Because if Williams really was told he wasn’t the biggest, strongest, biggest or fastest, well, many NFL talent evaluators didn’t spend time telling Purdy he was or wasn’t anything at all.
Now he’s red hot after back-to-back five-touchdown performances, and he’s primed to once again be an outlier in a largely even playoff quarterback field.
“Brock played hard,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Sunday night. “Made some huge plays in this game, kept some drives alive with his legs, made some off-schedule plays and was an assassin all day long. »
Purdy’s draft status and injury history suggest he is not expected to perform as he currently does
Final week of NFL regular season begins, 12 teams clinched a playoff spot. Four others are alive and vying for the last two places.
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Their quarterback profiles are mostly cut from the same cloth.
Fourteen of the 16 teams that could make the playoffs are starting quarterbacks drafted in the first round. Five of these quarterbacks were not only selected in the first round, but were also selected first overall in their class.
Reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts is an exception to go off the board in the second round: the Philadelphia Eagles selected him 53rd overall in 2020.
[Get more 49ers news: San Francisco team feed]
Purdy is the only playoff-eligible starting quarterback who was selected later than the second round, with the 49ers selecting him with the last overall pick and crowning him Mr. Irrelevant of 2022.
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Purdy’s draft slot isn’t a new playoff scenario. He played in six playoff games for the 49ers during the 2022 and 2023 NFL seasons, including one Super Bowl.
And yet, Sunday night against the Bears, he seemed to unlock another gear. It’s not just that Purdy completed 24 of 33 passes for 303 yards and three passing touchdowns after throwing a pick 6 on the first snap of the game (a decision that Shanahan said was the right process, even if it resulted in an unnecessary outcome). Or that Purdy rushed for two more touchdowns, en route to the 4-point victory in a wildly entertaining shootout.
It was how Purdy played against an admittedly shaky Bears defense that impressed.
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The last overall pick facing the first overall pick didn’t look like his draft status, or a quarterback who had missed eight games this season with a right big toe injury.
He threw darts in the air and evaded defenders with his feet.
With 5:01 left in the third quarter, tied at 28, Purdy faked a handoff to running back Brian Robinson Jr. then rolled out to his left. He pumped toward the end zone but didn’t release without a clear target. Then Bears defensive linemen Austin Booker and Andrew Billings started closing in. Purdy backed up and then dove between the two linemen, drawing Bears defenders toward him and away from fullback Kyle Juszczyk. With Juszczyk now open, Purdy hit his target.
Touchdown, 49ers. Purdy waited in line for his “Dougie” dance, and not for the first time that night.
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“Having quarterbacks that can do some things off schedule is a big part of our success,” Shanahan said. “He made me extremely nervous, and then he made me extremely happy, which happens sometimes.”
And while the feisty Bears tied and then overwhelmed the 49ers in the fourth quarter with 10 unanswered points, Purdy still had one more trick up his sleeve.
Facing second-and-10 from the 38 with 2:23 remaining, Purdy stayed calm in the pocket and launched a 21-yard air dart to none other than Jauan Jennings, the receiver he had targeted on his first pick 6. Jennings weaved the remaining 17 yards to the end zone for what would be the winning score.
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And the 49ers, despite missing several key players, kept their No. 1 seed hopes alive.
“It’s huge,” Shanahan said. “I’ve been really proud of the guys all year long, proud of them today. It’s a pretty big deal to have the opportunity to play for first place. And these guys deserved it.”
With the No. 1 seed on the line, can Purdy’s streak continue against the Seahawks’ stingy defense?
To clinch the No. 1 seed and first-round bye in the NFC, the 49ers must beat the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night.
The two teams faced off in the first week of the season, with the 49ers outlasting the Seattle Seahawks, 17-13. Purdy threw for 294 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The San Francisco list was then more complete.
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Of course, an offensive core was receiver Brandon Aiyuk amid contract and rehab disagreements, as well as receiver Deebo Samuel, after trading him in the offseason to the Washington Commanders. But that contest came before Purdy missed eight games with turf toe variation and before tight end George Kittle missed six games with hamstring and ankle injuries.
Star linebacker Fred Warner had not yet fractured or dislocated his ankle, and defensive ends Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams had not yet torn their ACLs.
The cast of characters welcoming the Seahawks into this finale has changed since their last meeting. But the 49ers think they are battle-proof. Facing a Seattle defense that ranks second in scoring and sixth in yards allowed, Purdy and Co. will face a tougher challenge.
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Then again, to quote the Bears’ Williams, isn’t this all an uphill battle against all odds?
The unlikelihood of Purdy initially getting the 49ers’ starting job in a room that included third overall pick Trey Lance is demonstrated by the weight of the quarterbacks in this year’s playoffs.
And now, in the eight games he’s been available for this year, Purdy has put up numbers similar to those highly drafted quarterbacks. His passer rating of 104.2 ranks him fourth behind Drake Maye, Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff – who were drafted third, first and first overall, respectively. Purdy’s 2.5 passing touchdowns per game ranks behind only Stafford, his 7.1 EPA/game second behind Maye, according to Next Gen Stats.
If all of these numbers belonged to Williams in Chicago, they would — unlike the quarterback target — be statistically more likely.
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For Purdy, they should continue to impress. Teaming up with one of the best players in the league, Shanahan, and one of the best weapons in the league, Christian McCaffrey, helps. But Purdy doesn’t just operate among them. He raises them.
Shanahan declined to confirm whether Purdy was playing in his four years in the NFL so far. But he did not deny this possibility.
“I don’t know, I’m not the best historian,” Shanahan said. “I feel like he’s had some good stretches. I mean, especially since ’23 and ’22.
“But I mean, he’s playing as well as he can right now.”
