Cardinals congratulate Brock Purdy as he leads 49ers to win over them

It’s safe to say that Brock Purdy had a perfect homecoming back to his home state of Arizona for the first time as the 49ers’ quarterback. So perfect, in fact, that the home team was congratulating him.

Purdy had another stellar day in the Niners’ 42-22 win over the Cardinals, completing 16-of-25 passes for 242 yards and four touchdowns. 

Purdy grew up in Queen Creek, just under an hour southeast of the Cardinals’ stadium in Glendale, and had dozens of friends and family at State Farm Stadium for Sunday’s game. When Purdy starred in high school at Perry High School in Gilbert, he was named the Cardinals’ 2017 Arizona High School Player of the Year and was honored at one of their games. 

That honor is something the Cardinals acknowledged on Sunday. The Cardinals put up a message in the second quarter congratulating all the high school players they honored throughout 2023, but included a message for players “from seasons past” and showed a photo of Purdy shaking hands with Arizona owner Michael Bidwill.

Purdy didn’t grow up a Cardinals fan — he supported the Miami Dolphins because his father was a big Dan Marino fan — but went to several games at State Farm Stadium growing up. Sunday was actually his second game as a player in the building, as his college Iowa State played in the 2021 Fiesta Bowl there.

On that day, Purdy was the offensive MVP as the Cyclones won 34-17 over Oregon. But the ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic meant no fans could attend the game, with only family members in attendance. This Sunday, an overwhelming majority of fans were there to support the 49ers and Purdy, and he put on quite a show.

Purdy connected with Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey for two touchdowns apiece. The highlight plays both came in the second half, when Purdy rolled left in the pocket and made a throw on the run to a wide-open McCaffrey, who stumbled as he caught the ball but got up and raced in to complete the 41-yard touchdown.

Then, in the fourth, Purdy threw a perfect strike to Samuel’s back shoulder on the left sideline, which Samuel caught while falling into the front corner of the end zone for a 19-yard score that put the 49ers up by 20.

Purdy didn’t play another snap from there as the 49ers moved to 11-3, clinched the NFC West and guaranteed at least one home playoff will be played at Levi’s Stadium. And when you consider Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott struggled as Dallas was blown out in Buffalo, Purdy is now the clear favorite in the MVP race with three weeks left in the NFL regular season.