Watch: Alex Smith makes executive decision on Brock Purdy game-manager debate

"I've been frustrated all week with all this talk that Purdy is just a guy. That he's just average and product of this great situation. That couldn't be further from the truth," Smith said on ESPN.

"I can tell you, as the unofficial president of the 'Game Managers Club,' that he's not allowed in."

While Purdy hasn't been perfect in the playoffs, he's shown enough to not only prove he's more than a game manager, but he's also the NFC's best hope for dethroning Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs as emperors of the NFL. 

In the regular season, Purdy threw for the fifth-most yards in the NFL and trailed only Mason Rudolph (who only threw 74 passes over four games in 2023) with 9.6 yards per completion. Those who haven't watched much of Purdy and the Niners this year might assume the numbers are inflated thanks to the incredible yards-after-catch ability of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle. 

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Purdy is also fourth in the NFL in completed air yards with his receivers catching the ball an average of 7.2 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and eighth in expected completion percentage. 

So not only does Purdy rack up traditional statistics, but his advanced analytics back up his play. The most important aspect of Purdy's game is his ability to take care of the ball. 

In the 2023 regular season he there 31 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, with an outlier four-pick performance against the Baltimore Ravens boosting his total. In five career postseason starts, he's thrown just one interception. 

If any team is going to beat the Chiefs in the playoffs, it needs to play an almost perfect game. 

Between Kansas City's combination of top-end talent and experience on the league's biggest stage, they are masters at pouncing on the mistakes of their opponents while making very few of their own. 

Purdy's ability to consistently play relatively mistake-free football and just take what defenses give him (either with his arm or legs) will be the key to a 49ers victory. Other top quarterbacks in the NFC like Dak Prescott and Jared Goff are certainly talented but have proven time and again that they'll take gambles that cost a team games. 

There will be plenty of neutral fans hoping for San Francisco to wrest control of the NFL from Kansas City and the media circus a certain singer has brought to the team. 

Purdy is the best man for the job.