Check off another box for rookie quarterback Brock Purdy.
Maybe at some point Purdy will have a bad game and the San Francisco 49ers will lose, but it wasn’t in his first career playoff start. Purdy passed another test after helping guide the 49ers through a more competitive wild-card playoff game than expected against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday afternoon. The Seahawks led at halftime but the 49ers blew them out in the second half for a 41-23 win.
The knockout blow, after a fumble by Geno Smith changed momentum, was Purdy scrambling around and buying time before finding running back Elijah Mitchell wide open for a 7-yard score. The No. 2-seeded 49ers moved on to the NFC divisional round with a huge second-half performance.
Purdy is the first rookie quarterback to start in a playoff win since Russell Wilson did it 10 years ago. Before Saturday, Wilson, T.J. Yates and Shaun King were the only rookie quarterbacks drafted outside of the first round to start in a playoff win. Purdy became the lowest-drafted quarterback to start a playoff game. Now he’s the lowest-drafted quarterback with a playoff win. He’s also the first rookie QB with four total touchdowns in a playoff game, according to Fox.
Purdy wasn’t the biggest reason the 49ers won. Deebo Samuel made several huge plays when it seemed he was hemmed in by the Seahawks, including a 74-yard touchdown to put the game away.
Christian McCaffrey was excellent, as usual. San Francisco’s defense gave up some plays but also did enough to turn the game around. Purdy just had to do his job and once again, and he did it well.
Purdy had 332 yards, three touchdowns (and a fourth was dropped by Brandon Aiyuk on a beautiful throw from Purdy), no interceptions and a 131.5 passer rating. Purdy also had a QB sneak for a touchdown. While Purdy got a lot of help from his talented teammates and a great scheme, the 49ers didn’t try to hide him in his first playoff game.
The 49ers’ rookie quarterback, who was the last pick of the draft and barely won a roster spot as the 49ers’ third quarterback, now finds himself two wins from the Super Bowl.
This incredible story isn’t going away.
49ers fall behind at halftime
The 49ers took a quick 10-0 lead. Their first two drives were easy. They got a field goal out of the first one, then a 68-yard run by McCaffrey started the second one. McCaffrey scored on a 3-yard touchdown catch to end that drive.
The Seahawks looked overmatched in the two regular-season meetings against the 49ers and Saturday’s game started the same way. It looked like it could get very ugly for Seattle.
Then the Seahawks started to move the ball. Kenneth Walker III scored on a touchdown run. Smith found DK Metcalf deep downfield for a 50-yard touchdown catch. All of a sudden the Seahawks led.
Seattle gave up a field goal late in the first half, but San Francisco had an inexplicable mistake with one second left in the second quarter. Defensive back Jimmie Ward blasted Smith when the Seahawks’ quarterback was well into his slide, drawing a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty. The Seahawks hit a 56-yard field goal on the last play of the half for a 17-16 lead.
The 49ers had been wrecking everyone for weeks. Seattle was included in their carnage. But in the first half, the Seahawks showed they weren’t going to back down. For almost any other team starting a rookie at quarterback, it would have been a daunting moment.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) had a big game in a win over the Seahawks. He became the lowest-drafted rookie QB to win a playoff game. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Brock Purdy leads a rally
One play in the second half turned the game around. The 49ers scored to take a 23-17 lead. The Seahawks responded with a drive right back downfield and were in the red zone. Then defensive end Charles Omenihu got his hand on the ball as Smith held it too low in the pocket. Smith fumbled and 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa jumped on the loose ball.
The 49ers went on a long drive after that, relying mostly on McCaffrey. Purdy ended the drive by scrambling around and finding Mitchell wide open for a touchdown. Seattle had battled hard but a 31-17 deficit seemed like too much to overcome. It got out of hand when Samuel took a short pass and burst past the Seahawks for the 74-yard score.
It was the kind of game in which a rookie quarterback could have wilted. The Seahawks looked like they could pull off the upset. The 49ers seemed out of sync in the first half and Purdy missed a few passes. Then the 49ers calmed down and carved up the Seahawks. They looked like a Super Bowl favorite.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
