PHILADELPHIA ( Associated Press) – Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy are set to meet in the NFC Championship Game.
It is the first time in the NFL that the Eagles’ candidate quarterback for MVP and Purdy, “Mr. Irrelevant” and rookie sensation for the San Francisco 49ers. With a ticket to the Super Bowl at stake, it will be an insane battle.
But the two young quarterbacks have met before, in a matchup that was one of the best of the collegiate 2019 season. Hurts threw three touchdown passes and Oklahoma rushed for two more. Purdy passed for five scores with Iowa State. The Hurts Sooners won 42–41 on November 9, 2019 in Norman, Oklahoma.
“It was like you had to score every time you had the ball,” Purdy recalled this week.
His tenure with the Cyclones basically replicated his route with San Francisco.
As a rookie in 2018, Purdy quickly established himself, so second-year starter Zeb Noland decided to move elsewhere just a month into the season.
Purdy started in the fifth game of the season and led the Cyclones to a 7–2 finish on their way to the Alamo Bowl. He was the first freshman since 1995 to start at Iowa State.
We reach 2022, Purdy was the last pick in the draft and still made the 49ers roster as the third quarterback. After Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo were injured, he took over as the starter. Purdy is only the third rookie quarterback to win twice in the post-season. He is the fifth to reach a duel for the conference title as a starter aspiring to play in the Super Bowl.
Despite all his success, it is still easy to remember the game he lost against Hearts.
Purdy led the Cyclones from a 42–21 deficit in the second half and brought them within one point with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Kolar in the final minute. In an attempt to get a win that would move them closer to the Big 12 title matchup, Iowa State coach Matt Campbell opted for a two-point conversion. they failed. Parnell Motley intercepted Purdy with 24 seconds to go.
Hurts passed for 273 yards and scored 68 runs. Purdy passed for 282 yards and scored on 55 runs.
“Yeah, I thought it was a perfect pass,” Purdy recalled. “Obviously it sucked to not get the complete pass and ended the game. That was all.”
