One month after rescuing the 49ers from a potential playoff loss to the Detroit Lions, Brock Purdy might have saved a San Francisco news anchor from another kind of four-legged predator.
Well, at least, that’s how the story goes.
Sara Donchey, who anchors The Late News on KPIX-TV, was walking her dog around San Francisco’s Bernal Heights Park in February when she spotted Purdy and 49ers teammate Colton McKivitz filming a John Deere commercial.
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Purdy, who is leading John Deere's search for a "chief tractor officer," on Tuesday recalled what happened next during an appearance on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show."
"I see this thing trotting by that has a big tail," Purdy said. "I was like, 'That looks like a mini wolf.' No one else was going to scream, so I screamed, 'Yo, there's a coyote!'
"That thing went running off. It could've been an ugly day on the shoot, but we saved her."
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In retrospect, Donchey believes Purdy might have saved the coyote from a cruel ending.
Hiwa, her 90-pound doberman, is big and mean, Donchey told NBC Sports Bay Area.
“And I can fight, too,” Donchey said. “I’m pretty sure at the end of the day, if it was us or the coyote, it would’ve been us.”
Nonetheless, when Donchey and Hiwa got closer to where the commercial was taking place, one of the members of the crew said, “Hey, Brock Purdy saved your life.”
But, as Donchey recalls, there was something else about her brush with Purdy that stands out two months later.
“I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised with how loud he shouted because he has to do that on the field every play,” Donchey said. “He had really great projection with his voice.
“I am thoroughly impressed and, I must say, I underestimated that part about Brock Purdy as a professional skill.”