The San Francisco 49ers are preparing to face off against their NFC West rivals in Australia, and the game doesn't come without headlines. One of them is edge rusher Myles Garrett, who is set to make his highly anticipated Rams debut. The addition of Garrett and recently unretired Aaron Donald has drawn "superteam" descriptions from both fans and pundits alike.
The Rams are 3.5-point favorites in the matchup and are currently favored to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season. Many expect them to handle the 49ers quite convincingly in Melbourne, but Brock Purdy might disagree. He boasts an underrated talent that could deter Garrett and the formidable defensive front.
A recent graphic made rounds on social media, displaying quarterbacks' EPA per dropback from 2023-2025. Many quarterbacks universally considered elite fell short of Purdy's rating. In fact, San Francisco's gunslinger ranked fourth on the list. The only QBs higher? Drake Maye, Josh Allen, and Patrick Mahomes.
Jared Goff is literally the worst most pressure-sensitive QB in football@FantasyPtsData https://t.co/g8Vm0sf90n pic.twitter.com/eMa02boPe0
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) September 3, 2026
Purdy's superpower has proven to be a Myles Garrett deterrent
While the post was originally purposed as an anti-Jared Goff argument, it reveals Purdy's quiet superpower. He doesn't get the same recognition as the three signal callers in front of him, but he obviously possesses an uncanny ability to stay poised under pressure.
Such a skill will surely come in handy against last season's sack leader. In fact, it already has... twice.
Garrett has played two games against Purdy. In the Niners' loss to the Browns in 2023, Garrett was relatively quiet, registering just one QB hit and failing to record a sack. In 2025, he sacked Purdy once, but the 49ers won handily 26-8.
Garrett's modest resume against the Niners combined with Brock Purdy's overall success against pressure could quell the Los Angeles pass rush enough to give the red and gold a fighting chance. With numerous players already fighting injuries, the franchise players will have to do all they can to propel the offense. Despite Purdy's ability to handle pressure, the Rams have a uniquely dominant defense. Whether it will be enough to stifle Purdy remains to be seen.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan is 11-8 in his career against the Rams, but Brock Purdy is just 1-2, and there is an argument to be made that this particular team will be his toughest divisional battle yet. In order to tackle the challenge, Purdy will need to evade Myles Garrett and the rest of the Rams' pass rush long enough to find open receivers down the field.
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