Joe Burrow Valiantly Shields 49ers QB Brock Purdy From Critics

The Bengals star doesn’t want to hear the Purdy critiques anymore.

The conversation around San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy’s talent level seems to never end.

Is he good? O.K., yes, we know that answer. But is he a game-changer or a game manager? And does it really matter?

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow might have dished out the final word on the topic.

“Well, first of all, you better be a game manager as a quarterback, otherwise it’s going to go haywire immediately and you’re not going to be able to operate the offense,” Burrow told Sports Illustrated’s Robin Lundberg during an exclusive interview at Super Bowl Radio Row. “That’s a prerequisite to playing the quarterback position is you have to be the game manager. You have to know situations.”

Purdy is surrounded by plenty of offensive weapons on the 49ers’ offense, from running back Christian McCaffrey to tight end George Kittle to receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. But in the playoffs, Purdy has relied on his athleticism to pick up crucial first downs to help San Francisco beat the Green Bay Packers on a touchdown drive in crunch time and battle back from a 17-point deficit against the Detroit Lions.

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“Brock has made tons of plays with his legs outside the structure of the offense,” Burrow said. "All you gotta do is go watch the tape, and you see Brock is playing at a high level.”

Burrow saw Purdy up close back in October when the Bengals handed the 49ers 31–17 loss, San Francisco’s third straight defeat. But since then, the 49ers are 9–2, riding Purdy’s play under center all the way to Super Bowl LVIII.