San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has been up and down in this postseason, and we’ve already discussed that. Purdy has been late with his anticipatory throws at times, and that’s led to him missing receivers even on the easiest reads. That would seem to set things up nicely for Steve Spagnuolo and the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense, but there’s one thing Spags needs to keep in mind.
Brock Purdy has been nearly unassailable against the blitz this season.
Against five or more pass-rushers, Purdy has 101 completions in 150 attempts for 1,534 yards, 701 air yards, 15 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 128.6. Even in the postseason, where things have been a little weird for him, Purdy has shown the ability to singe your blitz. His 32-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle against the Packers in the divisional round with 8:48 left in the first half had Green Bay in a jet front on third-and-five, with safety Jonathan Owens as the fifth rusher. Kittle and receiver Ray-Ray McCloud ran over routes from the left side, and as those routes developed, Purdy moved out of the pocket to his right, and made another one of those great anticipation throws The Packers were in Cover-0, and safety Darnell Savage had to catch up to KIttle on his deep route after trying to bump him off near the line of scrimmage. Purdy made a great off-platform throw for the score.
The Chiefs have sent five or more pass-rushers on 208 opponent attempts, fourth-most in the NFL. And on those 208 attempts, opposing quarterbacks have completed 112 passes for 1,122 yards, eight touchdowns, three interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 76.2. The thing about Spagnuolo’s blitzes is that they come from just about everywhere. I don’t think he gives you a lot of obvious “Here’s the blitz” keys.
So, that’s where the matchup really starts — Purdy’s ability to read the blitz, and Spags’ ability to hide it.
This Cover-0 blitz against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11 came with 11:59 left in the first half, and it was a six-man pressure. Linebacker Drue Tranquill blitzed up the middle to engage center Jason Kelce, and cornerback Trent McDuffie came the sixth rusher from the slot. McDuffie wasn’t picked up because running back Kenneth Gainwell ran a flat route to the other side. McDuffie scooted around left tackle Jordan Mailata, who was engaged by edge-rusher Mike Danna. A.J. Brown was signaling open on his route up the numbers, but cornerback L’Jarius Sneed jumped it for the interception.
So, Spagnuolo is brilliant at not only devising pressure from formations where you wouldn’t normally expect it, but also aligning his defenders to attack weaknesses in your protections.
If the Chiefs can find ways to break through Purdy’s elevated performance under pressure, perhaps they’ll be able to break that cycle.
