Tom Brady had the “honor” to face San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy in his first NFL start nearly two years ago. The seven-time Super Bowl champion traveled to Levi’s Stadium in Week 14 of the 2022 NFL season to see Purdy, who was starting after Jimmy Garoppolo went down with an injury the prior game.

While commenting on the 49ers vs. Cardinals game this Sunday, Brady recalled his initial thoughts on Purdy. He thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would dominate the rookie quarterback, but the rookie took the world by storm that day.

“In his first start, I was actually playing for the Bucs. And we said, ‘Oh God, we get to go in and grapple.’ And we got this guy Purdy. ‘Oh, we have a shot today. Mr. Irrelevant,’ and I’m sitting on the sidelines, I’m like, ‘How is Mr. Irrelevant carving us up? Is our defense that bad?’ It turns out that Brock is just that good,” Brady said about Brock Purdy.

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Purdy had already shown glimpses of what he could do, completing 25 of his 37 pass attempts in the prior week against the Miami Dolphins, racking up 210 and two touchdowns.

He followed up that performance by completing 16 of 21 pass attempts, throwing for 185 yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown for a 134.0 passer rating.

After that game, he continued his run with six consecutive wins, beating the Seahawks, Commanders, Raiders, Cardinals, Seahawks, and Cowboys before an injury took him out of the NFC Championship Game against the Eagles and ended his Cinderella story.

Brock Purdy, 49ers blew a 13-point lead against Cardinals

Two years after that strong performance against the Buccaneers, Brock Purdy has established himself as a star in the league. Unfortunately, the season hasn’t started the best way for him and his team. They boast a 2-3 record after what looked like a promising win against the New York Jets.

On Sunday, they faced the Cardinals, blowing a 13-point lead at halftime (23-10), ultimately losing by one point after the Cards scored 14 unanswered points in the second half.

Purdy attempted 35 passes, completing 19 for 244 passing yards, one passing touchdown and two interceptions. He added 33 rushing yards on four carries, but none of it was enough to beat Kyler Murray’s Cardinals.

They will face the Seahawks next Thursday in another divisional duel before a Super Bowl rematch versus Kansas City on Oct. 20.