One of the more interesting stories of this year’s NFL season #039 is 49ers rookie Brock Purdy, who is one win away from a Super Bowl appearance.
Purdy, the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, is a 49ersand#039; third starter of the season. With Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo sidelined with injuries, Purdy took over.
Since Week 14 in mid-December, the 49ers are 7-0 with Purdy’s starts (regular and playoff combined) averaging 15.1 points. In that span, Purdy completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 1,644 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Purdy makes its third postseason start on Sunday when it hosts the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. He becomes just the fifth quarterback to start a conference championship game. Past participants are 0-4, which answers the question of whether a rookie QB has won a Super Bowl. In fact, no rookie quarterback has even started a Super Bowl.
Has a rookie QB ever won a Super Bowl?
The short answer is, no, no rookie quarterback has won a Super Bowl or even started.
Countless factors contribute to this. Rooks rarely got playing time, and in the modern game, teams looked first to their quarterback. That’s why few rookies can score like Purdy has this season.
It’s a fun twist with Purdy though, because he’s mr. Irrelevant and possibly starting the Super Bowl. Tom Brady had his second season leading the Patriots to a Super Bowl victory over the Rams, starting a Patriots dynasty. He sat behind Drew Bledsoe for almost his entire rookie year.
Which rookie quarterbacks started conference championship games? 4,444 Five quarterbacks started conference championship games. The first was Shaun King with the Buccaneers in 2000. No rookie has done it since 2010.
Ben Roethlisberger started for the Steelers in 2005. Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez did it in 2009 and 2010, while Purdy started in 2010 in 2023 but only played for a short time before suffering injuries.
Player of the Year Team Opponent Comp/Att Yds TD KV Score
2000
Shaun King
Buccaneers Rams 13/29
163
163
2005
Ben Roethlisberger
Steelers Patriots 14/ 24
226
2
3
L, 41-27
2009
4
, 23-14
.
0
L, 31- 7
.
