During the San Francisco 49ers’ divisional playoff game against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, footage from Fox television showed quarterback Brock Purdy wiping his hand dry after the ball was snapped while playing in the rain. This video quickly went viral:
Purdy has occasionally looked like he has trouble gripping the ball firmly tonight.
tweet.com/Rsx6Rve7ah
— NFL on FOX Sports on January 21, 2024 (@NFLonFOX)
In an interview with Sports Illustrated’s NFL insider Albert Breer, Purdy provided a straightforward explanation for his peculiar actions.
Purdy said to Breer, “There were periods of rain falling fairly heavily, and other times it was just sprinkling and we were able to get a grip on it and throw.” “There was moisture in the field. Sometimes I would get a wet ball when my center snapped the ball. At that point, I believe I wiped it once or twice while I was dropping.”
Purdy clearly struggled with the weather until he connected on 6-of-7 pass attempts for 47 yards during what turned out to be a late game-winning drive. Despite the stats, he completed 23-of-39 passes for 252 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions against Green Bay.
The 24-year-old attempted to wear a glove on his throwing hand, but he removed it well before he made his most impressive throws in an exciting 24-21 victory, as Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area noted.
Purdy said, “Got to find a way,” in his conversation with Breer. unquestionably had an impact at first. That’s how football works.”
Fans of the 49ers and the Detroit Lions in this Sunday’s NFC Championship game will likely be relieved to learn that Purdy and company will have relatively dry conditions at Levi’s Stadium, according to the NFL Weather and RotoWire websites as of early Tuesday evening.
The Niners were set as seven-point favorites to beat the Lions and go to Super Bowl LVIII by DraftKings Sportsbook on Tuesday as well.
