Brock Purdy might not have walked away from the 49ers' Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with the franchise's sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy, but he did earn the respect of the opposing sideline.
While Purdy was not able to lead San Francisco to victory, he certainly was not the reason the team lost, and by most accounts, played well in his first Super Bowl appearance.
Well enough to earn the respect of Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who discussed the second-year quarterback with NFL Network and FOX Sports' Peter Schrager on the latest episode of "The Season with Peter Schrager" podcast.
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"I think Brock Purdy, I think is terrific ... I didn't find many (holes in his game)," Spagnuolo told Schrager. "The other thing that stuck out was, we played Tua [Tagovailoa], we played Josh Allen, we played Lamar Jackson and you've got to worry about those guys always running the football. Now it's going to be San Francisco, we haven't watched a lot on them so I don't really know them. (We're thinking) 'OK ... maybe he's not a runner, maybe we can get a little break here. I turn the film on and he's ripping Green Bay and Detroit with a couple of the run plays and I said 'OK here we go, we got another one.'"
Spagnuolo shared that he reached out to Purdy personally after the Super Bowl to share his respect for the 24-year-old signal caller.
"I just texted Brock the other day, I tried to track down his cell number," Spagnuolo said. "I just wanted to tell him how much respect I have for him and what a terrific game he played. He's such a quality guy, strong Christian man and I respect all of that and I'm happy for all his success. I'm glad he didn't have quite the real good game."
San Francisco 49ers
Spagnuolo is widely regarded as one of, if not the best defensive coordinator in the NFL, so his praise for Purdy carries plenty of weight.
Purdy and the 49ers will face off against Spagnuolo and the vaunted Chiefs defense again next season at Levi's Stadium.