The Greatest Trait That Brock Purdy Brings to the 49ers

Brock Purdy has been passing every test put out in front of him.

The rookie quarterback continues to prove to be an uplifting player for the 49ers offense. He did it again in the win against the Cowboys despite not having a great numbers game. Still, numbers don't reveal the whole picture.

It especially doesn't tell the whole story about the greatest trait that Purdy brings to the 49ers. That trait is his demeanor and handling of pressure both mentally and physically. Stepping into another playoff game with increased pressure could've made him crack. He showed that early on against Seattle in the Wild Card round. However, he ended up bouncing back in that game to finish on an extremely high note.

Purdy continued where he left off going into the matchup with the Cowboys by remaining cool, calm and collected. The moment never got overwhelming for him. The fact that his mistakes in the game were miniscule is a testament to that, especially with how he didn't turn the ball over. Purdy is displaying traits that are just unteachable. You either have a fearless and tough mentality or you don't.

What is even more impressive from Purdy is not only did the playoff pressure not bother him, the Cowboys physical pressure didn't either. The Cowboys were such a troubling matchup defensively thanks to their pass rush. Purdy experienced the most pressures of his early career in that game. He was basically pressured on half (48.5 percent) of his drop backs per Pro Football Focus. This explains why the offense couldn't gain traction for much of the contest.

And yet, the 49ers offense still managed to find a way. Purdy never got timid or rattled, which no one would've blamed him if he did. The weight of a playoff game against an elite defense that is pressuring him like he's never experienced should've made him fold. And while he was 3-of-10 for 24 yards and sacked twice when under pressure, he still kept coming back again and again. Purdy delivered several strikes in the game that went for chunk plays or pivotal third-down conversions.

Some quarterbacks end up seeing "ghosts" when they receive pressure on half of their drop backs. Throw in the playoff element, and you would likely get a quarterback who is sailing passes and turning the ball over. Not Purdy. Pressure is his best friend. The former Iowa product just welcomes it with open arms and embraces it. A complete outlier is what Purdy is putting on display. Dak Prescott wasn't even close to being pressured the same as Purdy, yet he played a much worse game than him.

The 49ers should feel truly lucky they have Purdy right now because it is his embrace of pressure that is proving to be the game changing trait.