Brock Purdy's third NFL season hasn't gone as smoothly as his first two with the 49ers.
The latest bump in the road for the 24-year-old quarterback came last week when he missed the 49ers' 38-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field due to a right shoulder injury.
The silver lining is that Purdy used the time off to reflect on the 49ers' disappointing 2024 season and what they must do to make a playoff push over the final six games.
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"Last week, just sitting on the sideline against Green Bay and stuff, towards the end of the game it was like, ‘All right, this is where we're at and what it's going to take moving forward and how we have to look at it one day at a time,’ " Purdy told reporters on Friday. "So for me, it was just, it was a good reflection of just how hard the NFL is. A lot of games have come down to the last couple possessions, fourth quarter and it can either go one way or another.
"And so, we've experienced both this year and you can't take anything for granted. So started thinking about those kinds of things and more than anything, it's like you can't look too far ahead in the future still. We have six games to play and all of our wants and desires and opportunity lay right in front of us. And so it's up to us. That’s really just what I started reflecting on and where I was trying to get my mind at.”
Purdy recalled that the last time he missed a start due to an injury or illness was at Perry High School in Gilbert, Ariz.
“Maybe my junior year of high school, the first three games, due to mono," Purdy said. "I think that was the first time. Last year against the [Los Angeles] Rams, we just sat me or whatever, to stay healthy going into the playoffs. But the last time I missed because I couldn't go was yeah, high school.”
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The good news for Purdy and the 49ers is that he is expected to start against the Buffalo Bills on NBC's "Sunday Night Football."
San Francisco enters the game at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. with a 5-6 record and NFL.com currently gives the 49ers a 16-percent chance to make the playoffs.
If the 49ers beat the Bills in blizzard conditions, their playoff chances improve to 26 percent, per NFL.com. A loss drops their odds of a postseason return to 11 percent.
The 2024 season has been a year of reflection for the 49ers, and no one is taking that more seriously than Purdy.