Five 49ers named awards finalists
Brock Purdy once again made the cut to the final three. He first did so among the 49ers' quarterback trio to make this season's roster, and now he's among three finalists for the Associated Press' NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honor.
Purdy's coach, the 49ers' Kyle Shanahan, is a finalist himself for the NFL's Coach of the Year award, while Nick Bosa is up Defensive Player of the Year and Christian McCaffrey a finalist for Comeback Player of the Year.
Can Purdy leapfrog the New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson or Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III?
Can Shanahan top the New York Giants' Brian Daboll, the Jacksonville Jaguars' Doug Pederson, the Buffalo Bills' Sean McDermott, and, Sunday's NFC Championship Game counterpart, the Philadelphia Eagles' Nick Sirianni?
Will Bosa's NFL-best 18 1/2 sack put him over the top of fellow DPOY finalists Chris Jones (Kansas City Chiefs) and Micah Parsons (Dallas Cowboys)? (This is the most likely award for a 49er, and Bosa was awarded that title Wednesday by the Pro Football Writers of America.)
Did McCaffrey's renaissance upon his Oct. 20 trade give him enough clout before the 49ers' playoff run eliminated fellow CPOY finalists Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks) and Saquaon Barkley (New York Giants)?
Those answers will come at the NFL Honors show Thursday night, Feb. 9 in Phoenix, three days before Super Bowl LVII. Also up for an award is 49ers' defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who's vying for AP Assistant Coach of the Year honors with two offensive coordinators, the Detroit Lions' Ben Johnson and the Eagles' Shane Steichen.
NFL MVP finalists are Jalen Hurts (Eagles), Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings), Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs), Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills) and Joe Bur
row (Cincinnati Bengals), the first three of whom are up for Offensive Player of the Year honors.
The winners will be announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 9. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting before the start of the playoffs.
For the 49ers to stay in Super Bowl contention, they'll need Purdy to become the first rookie quarterback to win a conference championship, when they visit the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday.
“I love the game, I love competing, I love making a big play and having the crowd go crazy,” Purdy said last week. “There's that thing in me that you just want to win.
“You want to have all those other guys on the field celebrate with you for doing something good, so whatever that takes,” Purdy added. “if that's extra studying, extra film hours, extra time in the
weight room, whatever, I feel like that's something that a lot of guys on this team have that they're willing to do and so, I'm just another guy that likes to do it as well.”
Purdy has produced eight wins since relieving an injured Jimmy Garoppolo on Dec. 4, after Garoppolo revived the 49ers' playoff hopes and reprised his starter role once Trey Lance sustained a fractured ankle in the Sept. 18 home opener.
Purdy passed for 214 yards and committed no turnovers in Sunday's 19-12 win over the Dallas Cowboys, who couldn't rally
behind Dak Prescott, the 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
With playoff wins over the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys, Purdy is only the third rookie since 1970 to win two playoff games (the 2002 New York Jets' Mark Sanchez, the 2009 Baltimore Ravens' Joe Flacco). The only others to reach a conference championship start are Shaun King (1999 Tampa Bay Bucs) and Ben Roethlisberger (2004 Pittsburgh Steelers).
Purdy's regular-season stats: 114-of-170 passes
completed for 1,374 yards with 13 touchdowns (for jersey No. 13) and four interceptions, along with 13 rushing yards (22 carries, one touchdown).
His postseason stats: 37of-59 passes completed for 546 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, along with 24 rushing yards (seven carries, one touchdown)
Whereas Purdy was the 262nd and final pick of the draft, the Jets took Wilson No. 10 overall and the Seahawks nabbed Walker
Wilson totaled 83 catches for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns in all 17 games, starting 12 for the Jets, who went 7-10 and used three different starting quarterbacks, too.
Walker, drafted 41st overall, ran for 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns on 228 carries in the regular season. He had 63 yards on 15 carries in the Seahawks' 41-23, wildcard loss at the 49ers.
The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists are: Jets cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen.