Pittsburgh Steelers CB Patrick Peterson somewhat infamously predicted he would record an interception off San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy in the season opener. It wasn’t a shot at the young quarterback and his talent, necessarily. More so, he believed he had a tell on Purdy that he felt confident he could exploit.
You might remember that not only did he fail to record an interception, Purdy also beat him for a touchdown. Let’s just say that things could have gone better. Even Purdy admitted throwing a touchdown against Peterson after the veteran cornerback’s prediction felt good.
To either his credit or his detriment, Peterson stuck by his position after the game. He said on his podcast that he wouldn’t take back what he said and blamed himself for not making the plays. With Purdy and the 49ers in the Super Bowl, he still doesn’t take it back.
“Not really because I did have opportunities to get interceptions”, he said on Good Morning Football. “I just didn’t catch the doggone ball. He did throw a touchdown on me as well. You know as defensive backs we see things and we always want interceptions. Each and every time we step on a football field”.
To be clear, Peterson never really talked about Purdy from the outset. He said on his podcast that the 49ers offense has certain tells, and that he would talk about them after the game. After he gets his interception. And you know what? He did have a chance at an interception, but he didn’t finish the play. So really he wasn’t wrong.
Whether he should have said it is another matter. Yes, every offense has tells. Not everybody predicts they will exploit those tells with an interception. And Peterson only managed two interceptions all season. He got his second late in the year while playing safety, which he called a gift.
“Having an opportunity to watch him throughout the year after we played them, he’s a very, very calm, competitive [player]”, he said of Purdy. “He knows where the football needs to go in order for that offense to be successful”.
Mr. Irrelevant of the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy went 12-4 as a starter in 2023, including the season-opening win over Peterson and his Steelers defense. He went 308-of-444 passing for 4,280 yards with 31 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He had the highest touchdown percentage in the NFL.
This postseason run has been a bit shakier, Purdy going 43-of-70 passing for 519 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He had a defender drop a big would-be interception along the way. But he has game-winning drives in both of their games, and the bottom line is he’s starting in the Super Bowl.
In contrast, Peterson is only doing the media rounds now because his team has long been out of contention, watching Brock Purdy’s success. He never slammed Purdy or anything like that, contrary to how it might read. But there’s a reason people still ask him about what he said.
