For thirty minutes on Sunday night, it appeared as though the 49ers were about to crash and burn.
However, they emerged at halftime of the NFC Championship Game as a very different squad.
In a nail-biting 34-31 victory against the Detroit Lions, the 49ers—led by Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, and a strong defense—punched their ticket to Super Bowl LVIII and a rematch with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Everyone from Ryan Clark and Amy Trask, who were critics of Purdy, to Patrick Willis, a former 49ers star, congratulated San Francisco on their second Super Bowl participation in four seasons after the historic victory.
The 49ers will take on the Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11
They finished the season 12-5 and were the top seed in the NFC. In the playoffs, they defeated the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions.
If Purdy can go from being the last choice in the draft to being the Super Bowl winner in only two seasons, it would be one of the most unlikely storylines in NFL history.
That would leave Purdy's detractors with no ammunition.
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