What happened the last time Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy faced off?
On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles will host the San Francisco 49ers for the right to play in Super Bowl LVII.
The quarterback battle is intriguing, pitting Philly's possible MVP candidate, Jalen Hurts, against "Mr. Irrelevant," the 49ers' Brock Purdy. However, Sunday's conference title game won't be the first time Hurts and Purdy have faced off. The two went head-to-head during their college days in 2019 when Hurts and the Oklahoma Sooners got the better of Purdy and the Iowa State Cyclones.
Hurts and Purdy both had fantastic days, but Oklahoma came away with a 42-41 victory. Hurts finished 18-of-26 for 273 yards and three touchdowns while adding 68 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. Meanwhile, Purdy ended the day 19-of-30 for 282 yards with five passing touchdowns and a rushing score in a losing effort.
A little over three years later, Hurts and Purdy will lead their NFL teams against one another in the NFC conference-title game. However, they both got to within a game of the Super Bowl differently.
Purdy wasn't spectacular in the divisional round against the Dallas Cowboys but did enough to help the 49ers secure a 19-12 victory. While Purdy looked poised and confident at times, finishing 19-of-29 for 214 yards with zero turnovers, the 49ers leaned more on its defense and the rushing duo of Elijah Mitchell and Christian McCaffrey.
Like Purdy, Hurts didn't produce big numbers against the New York Giants. But the Eagles' quarterback played only a half of football on Saturday night. Hurts completed 12 of 17 passes for 118 yards, scoring three of the Eagles' four first-half touchdowns. Philly led 28-0 at halftime, ultimately walking away with a 37-7 victory.
Hurts and Purdy are unlikely to combine for 11 touchdowns in Sunday's conference-title game, but crazier things have happened. Like a quarterback, benched after starting two seasons in college, meeting the 839th pick in the draft with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
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