Eagles-49ers NFC Championship: Recounting Jalen Hurts-Brock Purdy in Big 12 football classic

Sunday's NFC Championship Game will feature the two top teams in the NFC duking it out as the Philadelphia Eagles host the San Francisco 49ers with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

In one corner, there's Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who took a major step forward this season and emerged as an MVP candidate. In the other corner, there's 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, the final selection of the 2022 NFL Draft who excelled as the starter down the stretch and is already the most prominent “Mr. Irrelevant” in league history. These two gunslingers are on the cusp of capping their unexpected run of success with a trip to the Super Bowl and believe it or not, this isn't the first time they've gone head-to-head in a high-stakes showdown.

The last time these two faced each other was during the 2019 college football season, where Hurts' Oklahoma squad held off Purdy's Iowa State team in a 42-41 thriller. Coming off an upset loss to Kansas State two weeks prior, the Sooners came out with a sense of urgency in the first half knowing that their Big 12 and College Football Playoff hopes couldn't take another hit. Hurts was brilliant in the first half, connecting with future All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb for two long touchdowns, hitting Trejan Bridges on a seven-yard score, and running two touchdowns in himself to give OU a 35-14 lead heading into the half.

Trailing 42-21 heading into the fourth quarter, it was Purdy's time to shine. After starting the quarter with a three-yard strike to Chase Allen, he would find Sean Shaw Jr. for a 33-yard touchdown to bring the Cyclones to within one score. Capitalizing on a costly Hurts interception late in the ballgame, he would come up huge in the final minute by hitting tight end Charlie Kolar for a 13-yard touchdown with 24 seconds left. Instead of playing for overtime, ISU opted to go for two, where Purdy would ultimately be picked off on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt. That allowed Oklahoma to escape by the skin of its teeth, allowing for them to continue its march towards a CFP berth.

Both the Eagles and 49ers are incredibly stacked on both sides of the ball and it's highly unlikely we see the two QBs engage in a wild shootout like the one they had just over three years ago. But, we at least know what they're both capable of if it came down to that scenario.

  
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