Pittsburgh Steelers CB Patrick Peterson guaranteed that he would record an interception against San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy today, without actually using the word. On his podcast, he said that the 49ers offense had tells, and he would share what they are when he gets an interception.
Asked about Peterson’s comments last week, Purdy demurred, the second-year quarterback talking about how he respects the future Hall of Fame cornerback, but added on whether he would actually get his promised interception, “We’ll see”.
Well, he didn’t, although he almost did. Peterson had two nice pass breakups, one of which he could have conceivably picked off. But he’d already given up one touchdown by then, and later gave up another, both from Purdy to WR Brandon Aiyuk. And he wasn’t hating it, was Purdy.
“At first no, I wasn’t thinking about any of that”, Purdy said when asked if he had Peterson on his mind after throwing his first touchdown pass to Aiyuk, with the cornerback in coverage, on the opening drive, according to Nicholas McGee. “The second TD, the deep ball, that one I was like, ‘Alright, that felt good’”.
The last player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy spent most of his rookie season as the third-string quarterback behind Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, both of whom have since been traded. He went on to win seven games in eight starts, including two wins in the postseason, taking the 49ers to the NFC conference finals.
But he suffered a UCL tear in his throwing elbow in their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, playing just 22 snaps. Josh Johnson had to play the rest of the way and the team clearly suffered for it. And then he spent most of his offseason rehabbing instead of being able to throw regularly, preparing to be a full-time starter for the first time.
Named a team captain, he impressed in his 2023 debut, completing 19-of-29 passes for 220 yards with two touchdown passes—both with Peterson in coverage. The veteran slipped covering an in-breaking route in the red zone on the first touchdown, though he may not have been able to recover even if he didn’t.
On the second touchdown, he had very solid coverage on a tight throw to the shallow right corner of the end zone. It was just a good throw and a very good catch by Aiyuk, who did well to both control the ball and keep his feet inbounds.
I’m sure it felt awfully good for Purdy. A young, second-year quarterback coming off surgery on his throwing elbow essentially being called out by one of the most veteran defenders in the game, you’re going to feel a little something when you hit him for a couple of touchdowns after he promised he would pick you off.
