Brock Purdy still thinks he came out on top the previous time he and Jalen Hurts were on opposing teams.

“Yeah, I thought it was a completion,” Purdy said this week, more than three years after his 2-point conversion pass was intercepted with 24 seconds to play in Iowa State’s 42-41 loss to Oklahoma on Nov. 9, 2019. “Obviously, it sucked not being a completion and the game being over.”

On Sunday afternoon, Purdy’s eighth NFL start will come in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo forced the San Francisco 49ers to put the last player picked in the 2022 NFL Draft into their lineup at quarterback, and Purdy hasn’t lost a game yet.

In some respects, Hurts has had a surprising showing, too, in 2022. In his second year as the Eagles’ starting quarterback, Hurts is a finalist for this season’s AP NFL MVP Award.

A transfer after three years at Alabama, Hurts faced Purdy in college during his only season at Oklahoma. Hurts finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2019, and against Iowa State, he threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 68 yards and two touchdowns in the Sooners’ one-point home victory.

“Obviously, two different teams, two different times,” Hurts said on Wednesday. “I remember getting out early. Had like five touchdowns in the first half. I think it was like 35-14 at halftime or something like that, and then they ended up coming back. Kennedy Brooks made a real good run, made it like 42-something. But it was a good game. I’m glad we won.”

When Brooks scored on a 48-yard run with 4:06 left in the third quarter, Oklahoma had a 42-21 lead. But Purdy brought the Cyclones back with three fourth-quarter touchdown passes as he threw for 285 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 55 yards and one TD in the game.

After Purdy’s final TD pass, Iowa State coach Matt Campbell chose to go for 2 to take the lead against ninth-ranked Oklahoma in the final minute.

“When I see Brock Purdy making unbelievable play after unbelievable play, I’d rather put the game in his hands because I trust him,” Campbell said after the game. “Yeah, the question if I would do it over again — yes, in a heartbeat.”

Purdy put his pass in the hands of wide receiver La’Michael Pettway, but the football ended up in the possession of Oklahoma’s Parnell Motley for an end-zone interception.

“Obviously, there was a lot of points scored,” Purdy recalled. “It was almost like you had to score every single time you had the ball almost. Different situation and scenario than what we’re about to go through on Sunday, but it was a fun college game. It was a great experience to go against Jalen, and they had a great team. And he was making plays and stuff, and I felt like we had to do the same to keep up and stay alive in that game as well.

“But this is a different situation, different scenario going into Sunday.”

In his seven NFL starts, including a 41-23 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Jan. 14 and a 19-12 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in the NFL playoffs, Purdy has completed 147-of-220 passes for 1,854 yards with 16 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Purdy’s success has not shocked Hurts.

“I have a lot of respect for him,” Hurts said. “He’s always been a really good player. He has a lot of moxie. He makes plays, and he’s been doing that since college, so it’s no surprise to him when he was given this opportunity to see the success he’s having now.”

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Just as he’d been at Alabama in 2016, Hurts was the first-team all-conference quarterback for Oklahoma in 2019. Purdy was a second-team All-Big 12 selection behind Hurts in 2019, then made first-team in 2020 and 2021.

Purdy started four bowls and the 2020 Big 12 Championship Game for Iowa State. Purdy figures those games and his showdown with Hurts can only help him when the 49ers face the Eagles at 2 p.m. CST Sunday in the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

“In terms of the environment and everything, those kind of games definitely help – just a lot being on the line, being in the moment, focusing on what’s in front of you, focusing on the defense rather than getting caught up in the crowd and all that kind of stuff,” Purdy said. “I played in a couple of those games in college, and I think it’s great experience for me to go back to and remember how I felt, what was going through my mind, how did it affect my decisions, things like that. Definitely feel like I’ve grown from it, and I’m glad I went through something like that.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.