San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy is on the verge of making NFL history. If the 49ers can upset the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, Purdy would become the first rookie quarterback to ever start in a Super Bowl.

Only a few rookie “quarterbacks” have ever led a team to an NFL title, with quarterbacks in quotation marks the farther back in time we go. In 1946, a 25-year-old Otto Graham led the Cleveland Browns to an AAFC title in his first season. The prior year, a 25-year-old Bob Waterfield led the NFL in touchdown passes as a rookie and then threw two touchdown passes in the NFL title game to help lead the Rams to their first ring. Perhaps the best rookie season of them all came from Sammy Baugh in 1937, as he led Washington to the championship. And three years earlier, rookie Ed Danowski helped the Giants stage a fourth quarter comeback to beat the Bears in a famous title game.

Purdy has only started five regular season and two playoff games in his NFL career so far, and he sports a perfect 7-0 record. An appearance in Super Bowl LVII would be his 9th NFL start; believe it or not, that would only rank as the third fewest by a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl. On the other hand, at just over 23 years old, Purdy would in fact be the youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl. [continue reading…]