The 49ers were saved by Brock Purdy, who managed up and down the field.

The 49ers were saved by Brock Purdy, who managed up and down the field.

Christian McCaffrey may not have had the night’s most important run. Oh, or Deebo Samuel. Or maybe by George Kittle on one of his great catch-and-runs.

Nope. Most likely, the game manager did it. One could say that Brock Purdy’s 17-point comeback during the San Francisco 49ers’ 34–31 win over Detroit in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday was the most important run in stopping the Lions’ momentum.

Left guard Aaron Banks said, “I’m blocking my man and the next thing I realize I hear screaming.” He said this from the party held in the 49ers locker room at Levi’s Stadium after the game. “And Brock was 20 yards away.”

Pugh’s 21-yard scramble upon second-and-11 within the third quarter was one possibility. He ran up the center and cranked up his speed to get past Brian Branch, a defensive back for the Lions.

The 49ers had first-and-goal at Detroit’s 4-yard line two plays once the defense forced a turnover. McCaffrey scored from 1 yard out to end the drive and tie the game at 24.

Kirk Cousins as well as the Minnesota Vikings will play Brock Purdy as well as the 49ers on “Monday Night Football” at U.S. Bank Stadium. Things could have gone very differently, though.

Multiple sources told ESPN’s Kevin Seifert and Nick Wagoner on Monday that the Vikings heavily pursued Moody in the last few hours of the 2022 NFL Draft, expecting to sign the Iowa State player to a UDFA deal.

If he didn’t get picked in the draft, Purdy told ESPN this week that he was thinking about the 49ers, the Houston Texans, and the Vikings.

Of course, San Francisco chose Purdy with its final pick in the draft. Since then, the 23-year-old quarterback has grown into the starter after Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt last season.

But Cousins and the 49ers have been linked since before the 2022 draft. Cousins as well as 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan worked in tandem for two years in Washington. Shanahan was a big reason why Washington picked Cousins in the first round of the draft.

Their friendship has grown strong over the years. In 2017, the 49ers tried to trade Washington their No. 2 pick to Cousins, yet Washington never called back.

In 2018, rumors started to spread that Cousins and Shanahan might work together again. However, the 49ers traded for Garoppolo to the New England Patriots instead.

It’s not clear what Cousins will do in the Midwest after five years because he will be a free agent shortly after the 2023 season. The 49ers, meanwhile, seem to have found a long-term quarterback.

Purdy was ahead of everyone else in the league in QBR (76.9) going into Week 7. He has a strong case for NFL MVP after leading the 49ers for five straight wins before losing by two points to the Cleveland Browns.

If Cousins and Purdy were in different spots, who knows what might have happened? For the 49ers, it’s safe to assume that everything worked out for the best. David McCaffrey or Elijah Mitchell should get the football.

In their loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week, quarterback Brock Purdy had his worst game as a pro, throwing four interceptions. Kyle Shanahan as well as the San Francisco 49ers possessed a plan to stop him.

The two 49ers running backs ran for 144 yards and a touchdown between them in a 27-10 win over the Washington Commanders.

San Francisco bounced back to improve to 12-4 in the season. On 17 carries, Mitchell gained 80 yards on the ground. It took 184 yards for the 49ers to run all day.

Mitchell returned to the field after missing three games because of a knee injury that wouldn’t go away.

He got more reps because McCaffrey had to watch from the sidelines in the second quarter because of a calf injury that kept him out.