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MELBOURNE, Australia — This country loves to sing — from the national anthem to pop songs throughout the game Friday — and it loves to scream the praises of the underdog.
From the crew of the Australia II that won the America’s Cup in 1983 to 61-year-old potato farmer Cliff Young winning the Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon to gold medal speedskater Steven Bradbury to … Sam Stosur beating Serena Willians to win the 2011 U.S. Open to schoolteacher-turned-boxer Jeff Horn beating Manny Pacquiao.
It’s why the fans here took a shine right away to Brock Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. All week long, people here asked him how “Mr. Irrelevant” not only became relevant but a star player.
And Purdy didn’t disappoint the 100,021 fans on hand at Melbourne Cricket Ground or those watching at home. He overcame an early interception to throw for three touchdowns and 205 yards as the 49ers scored the last 24 points of the game and handily beat the Rams 27-7.
49ers dominate Down Under against rival Rams
Purdy couldn’t go all in with the locals, turning down a meat pie as he came off the field. But his newest fans are still chewing on his words Tuesday to the adoring Australian media on how one can overcome doubters.
“I don’t think you should buy into other people’s opinions or criticisms,” Purdy said. “If you believe in yourself and you trust in your work ethic and the preparation that you’ve put in, you can go win. You can go do it all.”
Purdy may have — he definitely should have — outgrown this underdog talk back in the States, but here fans will remember the bullet 39-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson, the 18-yard scramble and how much better the scrappy lad looked than his reigning MVP counterpart Matthew Stafford.
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan will remember the 99-yard drive that put the game away at the start of the fourth quarter.
“I think Brock played so well,” Shanahan said. “On the 99-yard drive, there were so many plays there he had to take off schedule and he would move the chains with his legs. Brock was unbelievable today.”
On the drive, Purdy hit tight end Luke Farrell and Deebo Samuel for first downs, and when the pocket broke down later on, he scrambled for 18 yards. He did a little dance for the fans when he got up from the turf on that one. He would run for another 8 yards and then culminated the 11-play drive with a sprint to his right and a strike to Samuel for another touchdown.
Purdy, who overcame the loss of rookie receiver De’Zhaun Stribling to an ankle injury, deflected all credit to his defense — it had a goal-line stand, which is why he started on the 1-yard line — and Shanahan.
“Shout out to our defense,” Purdy said. “Getting us that stop was a turning point for the game with momentum. And Kyle was doing a great job of dialing up the right play calls. Their defense was giving us our one and two’s in the (play) progression, so just trying to take that.”
Purdy got rid of the ball quickly. In fact, his average throw went 4.4 yards downfield, and the only game with a shorter ADOT in his career was 2.3 in the 2022 NFC title when his elbow was torn up.
When the Rams did get pressure, “I started using my legs a little bit,” Purdy said, “and the guys did a great job on the scramble drill, obviously hitting Deebo late.”
Purdy didn’t get the game ball. And it also could have gone to Trent Williams and the offensive line, who shut out Myles Garrett and the Rams pass rush. Or Renardo Green, who had a key interception early and validated his strong offseason and training camp. Or even to the two-headed rushing attack of Christian McCaffrey and rookie Kaelon Black (24 carries for 133 yards).
Instead, the Niners gave game balls to linebacker Fred Warner, after he became the franchise leader in tackles, and to strength and conditioning coach Dustin Perry for his work preparing for the trip and overseeing everything in the eight days the team spent here. (There is no truth to the rumor that the Rams left their strength and conditioning coaches behind in Melbourne.)
Purdy delivered with both his arm and his legs against the Rams. (Martin Keep / AFP via Getty Images)
The trip was also certainly made smoother because of Purdy.
Williams said he didn’t fully realize that the offense had driven 99 yards because he was dealing with cramps while playing, but it’s not really all that surprising.
“The team was finding its groove,” he said. “That’s what we’re capable of.”
And it all starts with Mr. Relevant.
“Look up leader in the the dictionary and there’s a picture of Brock Purdy,” Williams said, when asked by an Australian reporter to describe his quarterback. “He’s a Mr. Irrelevant and from playing with the (the third string) all the way to playing with the (starters), he’s been the same person.
“He commands the huddle, never gets rattled and some of the throws he makes under pressure are nothing short of phenomenal. He’s the heart and soul of the team.”
With that, the Australian reporters sighed and smiled and the underdog-loving fans here likely will as well.
And they will be happy to hear that the feeling is mutual.
“The crowd was awesome,” Purdy said. “I thought the energy that the Australians have out here were really cool. They’re passionate about sports. It’s pretty special. They were into the game the whole time and they had their different chants and stuff with songs.
“They had fun with it. So, for us to be able to come here to an amazing country and win, it was a great experience overall … Hopefully, we’ve got a lot of Niners fans now that are living here in Australia.”
That they do.
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