With just over 9 minutes left in the second quarter, Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt got to Purdy for a sack and forced the ball out of the 23-year-old’s hands. However, instead of getting away from the Niners quarterback, the ball went underneath him. This forced Purdy to awkwardly reach behind him to keep the ball secured between his body and the ground so that no Pittsburgh player could get to it, including Watt.
Somehow, Purdy held onto the ball long enough for the refs to call possession in San Francisco’s favor. The Steelers tried to challenge the call, but like everything else that has happened to them so far in this Week 1 matchup, it didn’t quite go their way.
It wasn’t exactly a “butt recovery” — the perfect foil to Mark Sanchez’s butt fumble in 2012 — as some described it, but Purdy’s keister was heavily involved in the play. The quarterback’s butt prevented the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year from getting a clean look at the ball and making the Steelers’ first big play of the day.
Purdy’s magic was all used up for that drive. His next pass fell incomplete, forcing the Niners to send out their field goal unit. At least rookie Jake Moody hit the 32-yarder to extend San Francisco’s lead to 20-0.