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The San Francisco 49ers are back where they’re supposed to be.
Injuries piled up during the jump last season, forcing the Niners to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020. After a market correction, they are back in the postseason and fighting for a coveted Super Bowl.
Brock Purdy said the team was “grateful” to be back in January, but it was time to get started.
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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on September 28, 2025. (Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images)
“Obviously, we’re grateful for it, but at the same time, it’s like, man, we need to turn up the volume and have that chip on our shoulder to hit the road and find a way to win and be ready for whatever comes our way,” Purdy said in a recent interview with PK Press Club Digital. “Obviously with the situation last year and not making the playoffs, you would never want that to happen. But for us, we’ve turned the page, we have a new team and we have to find a way.”
The Niners were one game away this weekend, but they suffered a home loss to the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC West crown and No. 1 seed.
“Obviously that was the goal last week, and we gave it everything we had, but sometimes things don’t go the way we want them to in the NFL. And for us, it’s all about bouncing back, man. We’ve got to turn the page quickly and go to Philly, get our body in shape, mentally, be ready to go on the road and find a way to get there in four quarters,” Purdy said. “It’s going to be tough, we’ve been there before, they have a really good team, we respect them a lot, but obviously we’re able to come in and play our way of playing and find a way to get there. So that’s just our mindset from here on out.”
Purdy was a pleasant surprise from day one. Originally the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and third on the depth chart, Purdy is now fighting for his second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons as a starter, and he has Kyle Shanahan to thank.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan watches from the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida on October 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
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Given the coaching carousel throughout the NFL, Purdy said it has been “huge” for him to continue learning from a head coach.
“Being able to grow with a coach, allowing him to invest in you and mentor you, teach you, coach you, everything, that’s extremely important. We see quarterbacks that are drafted pretty high on teams, and sometimes, you know, their surrounding players and coaches and general managers, they come in and out, and the player is left there to, you know, kind of learn on his own,” Purdy said. “So to be able to have a guy like Kyle there to teach me and take me under his wing and be able to help me grow as a quarterback and as a professional athlete, I’m very grateful for that and I’ll never take that for granted. But obviously we see it every year, new coaches come and go. So, man, you’ve got to take advantage of the time you have good coaching and good players around you and make it happen.”
Purdy admitted that “the guys have talked” about playing the Super Bowl in front of their home crowd this year, but they need to “be where our feet are” and just focus on the task at hand.
“It takes everything, man. You know, it’s never easy. It’s never cheap. We were the top seed, we had a bye in 2023, we had to win the game in the divisional round next week in the NFC Championship, we’re down 17, and you have to find a way to recover and come back and find a way to win and go to the Super Bowl. And then you go to the Super Bowl and it’s overtime. Like, it’s never easy, man, you gotta earn it,” Purdy said.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the third quarter at Lumen Field. (Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images)
“Every game, every rep, you know, and obviously it’s the same case in the regular season as far as standings and getting to the playoffs. The NFL is never easy, man. And so every year, it literally takes everyone and everything to reach your goal, man. So we all understand that. I understand that, and we just need to be reminded of that because it’s not easy.”
