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Faithful Flashbacks #65: The Emergence of Mr. Irrelevant

In honor of the San Francisco 49ers celebrating their 80th anniversary, Sactown Sports is kicking off a countdown of the 80 greatest moments in the franchise’s illustrious history in reverse order called “Faithful Flashbacks.”

From Super Bowl-winning plays to overperforming teams that had minimal expectations, there’s plenty to choose from the team with five titles under its belt.

The voting was conducted by a handful of the Sactown Sports’ staffers before results were compiled into a full list that will count down to the 49ers’ 2026 NFL regular season debut against the Rams in Melbourne, Australia, on September 10th.

Faithful Flashbacks -- San Francisco 49ers 80 Best Moments

The 2022 season was meant to be the start of the Trey Lance era in San Francisco. The 49ers had spent a hefty price to trade up for the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to select Lance with the vision of him being their quarterback of the future.

After spending most of his rookie season learning behind Jimmy Garoppolo, he was officially handed the reins heading into year two. Garoppolo remained on the team as QB2, while their third-string spot was filled by seventh-round pick Brock Purdy.

Purdy had been selected with the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft (262nd), deeming him the latest ‘Mr. Irrelevant.” Given that reality, the fact that he even made the roster coming out of camp could be viewed as an accomplishment, but unexpected circumstances led to an earlier opportunity than anyone could’ve predicted.

Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the second game of the season, leaving Garoppolo back in charge of leading the show. He helped right the ship as San Francisco was riding a five-game win streak into a Week 13 matchup against the Miami Dolphins.

Injuries struck again, as Garoppolo broke his foot on the opening drive. Just like that, Purdy was leading an offense in his rookie season. He managed the offense en route to a 33-17 victory, recording over 200 yards and two touchdowns in what turned out to be his first career win.

One week later, his first NFL start was probably the greatest quarterback of all-time, Tom Brady, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ironically, Brady had carved out his career after being a sixth-round pick himself.

Purdy and the 49ers won the game 35-7, the first of his five starts that season, all of which were victories. Finishing the season leading the NFC West with a 13-4 record, Mr. Irrelevant was leading a postseason squad.

His four-touchdown performance led them past the Seattle Seahawks in the first round, and then they won a slower-paced game in Dallas the following week. But there seemed to be some curse on the 49ers’ quarterbacks that season, because Purdy suffered a torn ligament in his right elbow on the opening drive of the NFC Championship game.

Admirably, he remained in the action but was clearly limited as they primarily ran the ball and couldn’t keep up with the Eagles in Philadelphia.

Lance and Garoppolo have moved on to different reserve roles, while Purdy remains San Francisco’s starter headed into 2026.

Rising from the final pick in the draft to leading a group to the NFC Championship as a rookie made for one of the best stories in NFL history. Who knows how far he and his team could have taken it if not for an unfortunate injury.