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The San Francisco 49ers are back where they should be.
Injuries plagued the jump last season, causing the Niners to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020. After a market correction, they are back in the playoffs and fighting for a long-coveted Super Bowl.
Brock Purdy said the team is “grateful” to be back in January football, but it’s time to get down to business.
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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sept. 28, 2025. (Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images)
“Obviously we’re grateful for that, but at the same time it’s like, man, we’ve got to step up and have that chip on our shoulder to go on the road and find a way to win and be ready for whatever comes our way,” Purdy said in a recent interview with Pakinomist Digital. “Obviously, last year the way it went down and didn’t make the playoffs, you never want that to happen. But for us, we’ve turned the page, we’ve got a new team and we’ve got to find a way.”
The Niners were one game off this weekend, but they took a home loss to the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC West crown and the No. 1 seed.
“Obviously that was the goal last week and we gave it everything we had, but sometimes things don’t go your way in the NFL. And for us, it’s about coming back, man. We’ve got to turn the page quickly and get it to Philly, get our bodies right, mentally, be ready to roll on the road and find a way to get it done in four quarters,” Purdy said. “It’s going to be tough, we’ve been there before, they’ve got a really good team, we respect them a lot, but obviously we’re able to go in and play our way of ball and find a way to get it done. So that’s just our mindset from here.”
Purdy has been a pleasant surprise from day one. Originally the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft and third on the depth chart, Purdy is now vying for his second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons as a starter, and he has Kyle Shanahan to thank.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida on Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
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Given the coaching carousel throughout the NFL, Purdy said continuing to learn from a head coach has been “huge” for him.
“Being able to grow with a coach, having him be able to pour into you and mentor you, teach you, coach you, all those things, that’s extremely important. We see quarterbacks that get drafted pretty high to teams and sometimes, you know, their surrounding casts and coaches and GMs, they’re in and out and the player is left there to, you know, just learn on their own.” “So to be able to have a guy like Kyle for myself to teach me and take me under his wing and be able to help me grow as a quarterback and as a professional athlete, I’m very grateful for that and I’ll never take that for granted. But obviously we see it every single year, new coaches come in and out. So man, you’ve got to take advantage of the time you’re coaching and make it happen when you’re a coach and make it happen around you.”
Purdy admitted that “guys have talked about” playing the Super Bowl in front of their home crowd this year, but they need to “be where our feet are” and just focus on the task at hand.
“It takes everything, man. You know it’s never easy. It’s never a given. We were the first seed, had a bye in 2023, we were going on a winning streak in the divisional round the next week in the NFC Championship, we’re down 17 and you’ve got to find a way to break loose and get back in it and then find a way to win the Super Bowl and then go to the Super Bowl and then go to the Super Bowl. overtime It’s never easy, man, you’ve got to earn that,” Purdy said.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass against the Seattle Seahawks in the third quarter at Lumen Field. (Joe Nicholson-Imagn Photos)
“Every game, every rep, you know, and obviously that’s the same case in the regular season for seeding and to get to the playoffs. The NFL is never easy, man. And so every single year, it literally takes everybody and everything to reach your goal, man. So we all get it. I get it, and we just have to be reminded of that because it’s not easy.”
