The 49ers were probably not going to beat the Philadelphia Eagles once quarterback Brock Purdy went down with a torn UCL in the first quarter of the NFC championship game. If they had pulled off a miracle and won the game, it would’ve led to perhaps the biggest story in NFL history.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan told the Athletic’s Tim Kawakami that veteran QB Philip Rivers was one of the potential options to start the Super Bowl for San Francisco.
With neither Trey Lance nor Jimmy Garoppolo on track to be healthy enough to play, the 49ers’ head coach was ready to pull out all the stops.
“Whole thing I’m just thinking is, ‘Man, I hope Brock’s not as bad as they’re saying and what’s going to be our Plan B? Are we going to have to get Philip Rivers, someone like that, for the Super Bowl?’” Shanahan told Kawakami. “Because that’s what I’m thinking. ‘Cause I didn’t think Jimmy was going to be ready and all I’m thinking is, ‘Man, I hope Brock is not bad as bad as they’re saying and someone like Philip Rivers is working out and ready to go here in two weeks because that’s still our plan.’ And when I accepted reality, it took me a while to get over.”
This is a fascinating addition to something NFL Network host Rich Eisen discussed on his radio show. He said one of the big rumors rolling around the 2023 combine was that Rivers contacted both the 49ers and Dolphins about possibly starting for them after they suffered multiple QB injuries.
It appears now the 49ers were ready to call him back had they pulled off a miracle and knocked off the Eagles with Josh Johnson under center.
Had Rivers started the Super Bowl for the 49ers – his first Super Bowl appearance after 17 NFL seasons – it would’ve been a huge deal. If he went on to beat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs – it might have gone down as perhaps the greatest Super Bowl story of all-time.
Alas, the 49ers got thumped 31-7 in the NFC title game and any potential call to Rivers or another veteran QB became unnecessary.
