Purdy didn’t throw a touchdown this time, but again showed himself to be a skilful director, made no mistakes and extended his run to eight wins in eight games. “We’re just happy that we won. It’s playoff football, it’s never easy,” Purdy told Fox.
Purdy was selected last in the draft last spring and was therefore traditionally given the nickname “Mister Irrelevant”. But because quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo were injured in the 49ers, Purdy made his NFL debut as a surprise and has been a regular for the 49ers ever since.
Like last year, his team is in the game for the Conference Championship of the National Football Conference, the semi-finals of the NFL. Twelve months ago there was a defeat against the eventual Super Bowl winner Los Angeles Rams. Next Sunday (9:00 p.m. CET) the Philadelphia Eagles are waiting, who already lived up to their favorite position on Saturday with a 38:7 win against the New York Giants.
“That will be funny”
The first game on Sunday took place in Buffalo in heavy snow and the Bengals won surprisingly clearly in Buffalo. Next Sunday (Monday, 12:30 a.m. CET) they meet the Kansas City Chiefs in the final of the American Football Conference (AFC), who already eliminated the Jacksonville Jaguars by 27:20 on Saturday.
“Dominance from start to finish. The job isn’t done yet, we have a tough away game ahead of us,” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said on CBS. The duel against the Chiefs already happened last season – the Bengals prevailed a year ago and advanced to the NFL finals, where they then lost to the Los Angeles Rams. “That will be funny. Two of the top guys in the league, two of the top teams, it’s going to be exciting and I’m looking forward to it,” Burrow said. Whether Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will play with his sprained ankle is open.
Cheers for Hamlin
For the highly traded Bills, on the other hand, the season is over again after the divisional round. The biggest cheer from the otherwise disappointed Bills fans came just before half-time when Damar Hamlin’s presence was announced over the stadium loudspeakers. It was the 24-year-old defenseman’s first visit to the stadium since his cardiac arrest three weeks ago, which ended the Bills’ main round game against the Bengals. Hamlin, seated in a box, stood up and made a heart with his hands and used his arms to encourage the audience to cheer louder.
Hamlin’s rapid advances had given his team-mates added impetus and motivation in recent weeks, but the hosts found no resources against the Bengals. The guests, led by Burrow, took the lead with the first ball possession, and after the first quarter the Bengals were 14-0. Bills quarterback Josh Allen made it possible with a touchdown pass to make it 7:14, but the Bills were less than seven points behind the Bengals.
