San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy during 35-7 win over Tampa Bay Buccaneers during NFL game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, December 11, 2022.
Scott Strazzante / The ChronicleSurreal.
That’s howBrock Purdyof theSan Francisco 49ersdescribed the end of the game, when he met Tom Brady at midfield and got a high-five from the quarterback he has watched, quite literally, his entire life.
The rest of the day?
That was pretty surreal too.
Purdy, a 22-year-old rookie who looks like he might be valeting your car,outdueled the greatest quarterback of this generation.Purdy ran up a 35-0 scorebefore the first minute of the second half was over and completed 16 of 21 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns and a rating of 134.0.
“We got a quarterback,”Nick Bosasaid.
Yes, the 49ers do. Their third one of the season but one who looked, at least on Sunday, like he could take them the distance. Purdy proved against Tampa Bay that his game the previous week, when he stepped in for injured Jimmy Garoppolo, was no fluke.
With a full week of preparation, a full week of hype about facing Brady — who was drafted when Purdy was 5 months old — and a full week for the nerves and butterflies to set in, Purdy was composed. And ready.
“The reps of practice and knowing that you’re a guy going into the game, that was a little different,” Purdy said. “Other than that, my emotions and being in my hotel room studying last night was all relatively the same.
“And then when we found out we’re getting the ball to start the game out, that’s when I was like, ‘This is getting real. Let’s go.’”
It got even more real on the first snap when safety Keanu Neal leveled him. But Neal was called for roughing the passer. Purdy not only got the first hit of the game out of the way but got an extra 15 yards in the process.
“It felt good to get hit,” he said. “It made me feel like I was in the game.”
Oh, he was in the game all right. Five plays later,Deebo Samuelwent in for a touchdown and Purdy-Niners were rolling.
“He’s an impressive guy,” saidChristian McCaffrey. “He’s very poised but plays with energy at the same time.”
When he scrambled up the middle for a two-yard touchdown run to give the 49ers a 14-0 lead, the Fox cameras caught Purdy’s father Shawn in the stands, wiping away tears.
“I saw the video of his dad crying — that was pretty cool,” Bosa said.
After the game, Purdy found his family up in the stands.
“Just, you know, the emotions on their faces, the way they looked down from up on the railing,” Purdy said. “It just means a lot, because throughout my whole life, the ups and downs of playing quarterback in high school and college, there are people at home that just believe in you. They always see the best in you.
“They believed in me, being the last draft pick and they’ve always been telling me you’re good enough. You can do it. So, to see them after that performance, it meant a lot to me, and I feel very blessed to have them.”
By the time Purdy found McCaffrey for a 27-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead, the delirious fans in the stands were chanting “Pur-dy, Pur-dy.”
He benefited from another flag late in the first half, when a defensive holding penalty erased an interception. With new life, Purdy responded on the next play by throwing another touchdown pass toBrandon Aiyuk.
只有沮丧的一天the loss of Samuel to an ankle injury. The team will learn more about the injury on Monday. Not having Samuel for any extended time will limit the 49ers’ offensive options and put more of a burden on McCaffrey and on Purdy.
Did Purdy ever look up at the scoreboard and across the field at No. 12 and think he was living in some sort of Disney movie? Brady is such an icon that after the game Purdy’s teammates asked him for autographs; Dre Greenlaw and Tashaun Gipson asked Brady to sign the balls they intercepted from him.
“Honestly, I just kept telling myself this thing isn’t over with that guy on the other side of the field,” Purdy said. “I just wanted to keep putting up points on the board knowing this dude has made all these crazy comebacks in his career. I didn’t want that to happen in my first game as a starter.”
Kyle Shanahanappreciated that tenacity. Shanahan, who famously gave up a 28-3 third-quarter lead to Brady in a Super Bowl, said he was running the math in his head all game, as well.
Long after the game ended, Shanahan sat next to Purdy’s locker room and had some quiet words with his latest starter. The 49ers haven’t wavered in their belief that they are one of the best teams in the league with a shot at the Super Bowl and being on their third quarterback of the season doesn’t change that mindset.
“I think everybody knows that already,” Shanahan said. “It was big last week to have Brock come in and show everybody that he’s capable.”
The belief is even stronger now. The 49ers have won six games in a row and can clinch the division with a win on Thursday night in Seattle. The Seahawks lost to Carolina to fall two games behind the 49ers. The 49ers were able to rest most of their starters for much of the fourth quarter, a perfect scenario heading into a short week. The 49ers are setting up nicely for a postseason run.
A run that will be led by Brock Purdy.
Surreal.
Ann Killion is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: akillion@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annkillion
