49ers' Bosa: Purdy 'shut up some haters' in season-opening win
Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa applauded San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy's performance following Sunday's 30-7 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"Purdy shut some haters up," Bosa said Sunday, according to ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "I think whenever a guy comes back from an injury, people kind of don't expect them to make another leap in the second year. I'm just happy for him. He's exactly who we thought he was."
The Week 1 victory marked Purdy's return after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow nearly six months ago. Sporting a captain's "C" on his jersey, the second-year signal-caller completed 19 of 29 pass attempts for 220 yards and two touchdowns in a rout over Pittsburgh.
San Francisco selected Purdy with the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Iowa State product has been a key factor since becoming the Niners starting passer last campaign, posting a 6-0 regular-season record over his short tenure.
Despite missing most of the 49ers' offseason rehabbing from surgery, Purdy said his elbow ailment didn't cross his mind during his Week 1 performance.
"This is what we expect out of ourselves, and once I hit that touchdown, I wasn't thinking about surgery or anything like that," he said.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said he was impressed with the second-year quarterback's season-opening outing, adding that Purdy has "taken this whole offseason as good as you can as a quarterback being injured."
The 23-year-old quarterback also said it "felt good" throwing a touchdown to Brandon Aiyuk in the second quarter with Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson in coverage.
Peterson made waves leading up to the season opener when he said on his "All Things Covered" podcast that the Niners have "tell signs" that give away what plays they're going to run in certain situations and predicted he'd record an interception Sunday.
Purdy praised Peterson as a "competitor" and said he has "nothing but respect" for the veteran defensive back.
Purdy will aim to lead the Niners to a 2-0 start on Sept. 17 when they visit the Los Angeles Rams.