Brock Purdy's success avoiding pressure illustrates why the 49ers must address the offensive line
Brock Purdy was sacked only once in Super Bowl 58 despite being pressured on 18 of his 38 throws, with the San Francisco 49ers quarterback's performance under duress on the biggest stage reflective of how he often managed to negate opposing pass rushes throughout a hugely impressive first full season as the starter. Purdy did […]
Brock Purdy was sacked only once in Super Bowl 58 despite being pressured on 18 of his 38 throws, with the San Francisco 49ers quarterback's performance under duress on the biggest stage reflective of how he often managed to negate opposing pass rushes throughout a hugely impressive first full season as the starter.
Purdy did an excellent job avoiding free rushers, of which he faced plenty, in the Super Bowl, and was consistently undaunted by the presence of pressure in his face in an admirable showing in the 49ers' 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ensuring pressure did not turn into sacks was something at which Purdy excelled for the entirety of the 2023 campaign.
Indeed, per Pro Football Focus (h/t Ian Hartitz), Purdy (14%) was one of only six quarterbacks to allow under 15 percent of their pressured dropbacks to turn into a sack.
The problem is that the impact of Purdy's prowess for evading pressure was minimized by the offensive line's inability to keep him clean. Purdy was pressured on 39.6 percent of his dropbacks last season, per PFF. Among quarterbacks with at least 100 pressured dropbacks, that was the ninth-highest ratio in the NFL.
In other words, Purdy's success escaping pressure is illustrative of why the Niners need to invest in the offensive line this offseason. Even with their struggles up front, the 49ers still had the most efficient offense in football by Expected Points Added and DVOA.
Yet with a better offensive line drastically reducing the amount of pressure Purdy faces, and Purdy consistently evading the rush when it comes, an offense that averaged the fourth-highest yards per game (398.4) in franchise history in 2023 could have the upside to reach even higher levels.
Purdy's passer rating when kept clean this season of 122.6 was the best in the NFL. The 49ers can't just rely on his ability to minimize the impact of pressure, they must make efforts to minimize the number of snaps he is under duress. If they successfully do so, their path back to the Super Bowl may be a lot easier.
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