Chiefs coach Andy Reid is devising a plan to slow down Brock Purdy in Super Bowl LVIII, but his respect for the 49ers quarterback dates back to long before the 24-year-old took the NFL world by storm.
In speaking to reporters on Thursday, Reid revealed that his admiration for Purdy began during the signal-caller's tenure at Iowa State University, with a particular comment about the 49ers quarterback from Cyclones coach Matt Campbell standing out.
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"He's [Purdy] a heck of a player," Reid told reporters. "I remember specifically one of the Saturday afternoons watching him in college, and I remember the head coach saying, 'This guy has changed our program.'
"Changing a program … that's big. And that's what he is; he's doing that in the National Football League. Last week, he did it as much with his legs as he did with his arm; he ran the ball well. He's a good football player, he's smart, got a great feel for things."
Since Purdy took over as the 49ers starting quarterback in December 2022, San Francisco has won 24 of the 30 games the 24-year-old has started in the NFL. That includes a 4-1 record in the playoffs, with the lone loss coming in the 2022 NFC Championship Game when Purdy tore his UCL on the 49ers' first possession.
Purdy's .800 winning percentage over his first 30 NFL starts historically places him in elite territory. For comparison's sake, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes -- already viewed as one of the greatest players to ever play the position -- posted a .733 winning percentage over his first 30 starts (22-8).
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The similarities don't stop there, either. Like Purdy, Mahomes lost a conference title game in his first full season as a starter before reaching the Super Bowl in his second season under center, just as Purdy has done during the 2023 campaign.
After a rough first half in San Francisco's thrilling comeback win over the Detroit Lions in the NFC title game, Purdy put together a remarkable second half, achieving a rare feat that had not been accomplished in 30 years to help the 49ers roar back for a historic victory.
Now facing the daunting task of a Super Bowl matchup against sure-fire Hall of Famers in Mahomes and Reid, Purdy has a chance to etch his name into NFL history and complete one of the greatest stories we've ever seen in sports.
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