The San Francisco 49ers are one of the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl, but they’ll have to do something that’s never been done before at quarterback.
With the dust settled on the regular season and the playoffs right around the corner, the San Francisco 49ers finished the season at 13-4 and the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
They have a divisional matchup against the Seattle Seahawks to begin with at Levi’s Stadium, as the team enters the playoffs with the best win streak of anyone with 10 straight wins to end the season.
We all know the story of quarterback Brock Purdy by now of course. Mr. Irrelevant was thrust into service as a starter when Jimmy Garoppolo went down, and the end result is not only a team that’s kept on going but is in fact averaging over 33 points a game with him starting under center.
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Purdy has silenced a lot of the doubters that didn’t believe that his success would be sustainable over multiple games, but the question is now whether or not he’s ready to lead an offense in the playoffs.
For the 49ers to add a sixth Lombardi to their trophy cabinet, they have to do something that’s never been done before. No team has ever won the Super Bowl with a rookie quarterback starting, and indeed no team has even made it to the Super Bowl.
It’s not exactly a shocking stat. Highly touted quarterbacks tend to go very early to teams that aren’t ready to compete for a Super Bowl yet, and even the most hyped up of signal callers in the draft often need some time to acclimate to the game.
But Purdy has shown attributes not seen in rookie quarterbacks very often, and has a lot of advantages at his disposal that a lot of rookies just simply don’t have.
The 49ers are perhaps the best positioned team ever to break through the rookie quarterback barrier, and here’s why.
His poise is incredible for a rookie
Rookie quarterbacks tend to get a bit skittish in the pocket when pressure is unleashed on them. It’s understandable, the game is a bit faster in the NFL and quarterbacks from large schools that have a lot of talent on the offensive line tend to not have the same protection.
Purdy not only has had a strong offensive line anchored by a future member of Canton in left tackle Trent Williams, but his play when faced in a pressure situation has been exceptional and very unlike a rookie.
Against Arizona in Week 18, Purdy showed precisely how good he is under pressure:
"Purdy was under pressure on 10 of his 27 dropbacks (37 percent), completing three of his five attempts for 30 yards, one touchdown and 116.7 passer rating. The Cardinals did get to Purdy for four sacks and one scramble when under pressure. When blitzed, Purdy’s response might have been even better. The rookie was blitzed on 12 of his 27 dropbacks (44.4 percent) and completed eight of his 10 attempts for 87 yards, two touchdowns and a 142.5 passer rating."
Purdy tends to thrive under pressure, and blitzing is the wrong thing to do against the 49ers. Players like tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Deebo Samuel would chomp at the bit to have only one defender to beat and open space beyond that, and could very well be an easy touchdown.
Teams are trying to rattle the young quarterback, but Purdy has remained completely unrattled. He executes the offense calmly, while not being afraid to throw deep when he has to.
The fact teams have to now respect the occasional throw down the field means the offense has so much more room to move both running the ball and throwing it underneath.
The poise is what can get Purdy through the playoffs and get the 49ers a sixth Super Bowl. Just execute the gameplan and allow the weapons and the defense to do the rest.
It hasn’t failed Purdy yet, and it shouldn’t fail against the likes of the Seahawks who he’s already defeated.
And once he’s gotten one playoff win under his belt, the next will be that much less nervewracking.