SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- As San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy prepared for Sunday night's matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, he spent plenty of time looking back at the NFC divisional-round playoff game between the teams from January.
What Purdy saw on that film was a rookie quarterback making his second postseason start who was a little off compared to how he'd played after taking over as the Niners' starter in Week 14. It wasn't that Purdy played poorly in that postseason victory -- it just wasn't up to the lofty standard he'd already set.