49ers QB Brock Purdy Explains How Defenses Have Adjusted to him

Brock Purdy is having the best season of his career, but his numbers are down and his record is 2-2.

Sep 29, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass against the New England Patriots during the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

SANTA CLARA -- Brock Purdy is having the best season of his career, but his numbers are down and his record is 2-2.

He's having to work harder this season than he did in the past. Part of that is because Christian McCaffrey is out with bilateral Achilles tendonitis. But another part is because defenses have adjusted to Purdy's style of play.

A big enough sample size exists now to see what Purdy wants to do, and that's throw the ball over the middle. So teams are trying to take away that area of the field against the 49ers.

On Thursday, Purdy spoke about how he's adjusting to the league's adjustments. Here's what he said, courtesy of the 49ers' p.r. department.

Q: You guys on offense still have a lot of success, obviously, but maybe it looks a little different than it has in the past in terms of pushing the ball down the field more, maybe a few more tight-window throw. I was wondering what are you seeing from defenses that maybe is kind of changing the way you have to go about getting that? And is that something that you think pertains to you guys specifically, or is it just kind of team specific and the defenses that you're facing?

PURDY: “I would say it's more team specific. Everybody sort of has a style of how they play. You know, Minnesota did their zone coverages and everything like that or brought all out. Last week against the Patriots, they did a good job of playing man and funneling everything to the middle. So, like there's different themes every week. Obviously, they're going to scheme us up and try to do what's best for them and stopping us with the playmakers that we have. But at the same time, I do feel like there may be a theme of, you know, man coverage and try to play one-on-one football. We got that from the Rams, we got that last week with the Patriots. So, we do see it more and more to get man. And so for us, what does that mean? We’ve just got to beat the guy in front of us and then for me as a quarterback, I’ve got to be accurate with the ball and we’ve got to execute. That's football at its finest. And so, I feel like we may see that a little bit more, but at the same time, you never know, because every defense has their different style.”

Q: Do you think defenses are purposefully like mucking up the middle of the field a little bit more in terms of trying to take away some of the intermediate crossers and things that you've kind of made a living off of for the last couple years?

“Yeah, no, I 100-percent agree that they are. I feel like my rookie year and that 2022 season, even with [Los Angeles Rams QB] Jimmy [Garoppolo], man, we hit a lot of stuff over the middle and we had a lot of explosives like that and cross courting plays and getting the ball into like [WR] Deebo [Samuel] and [WR Brandon Aiyuk] B.A.'s hands and then they break one tackle and they're gone. And so, I feel like we do see a lot more help and stuff in the middle of the field for sure. But at the same time, that opens up other things and avenues and areas for us to get better and attack. And so, some defenses do that, some don't. I guess that's something that we've seen over the last year or so. But we have to adjust, man, that's football.”

Q: You’ve made 25 career regular season starts now. Where have you seen or recognize the biggest growth that you've made during that time? And then what's the next step for you to take it to an even higher level?

PURDY: “Yeah, I think you know, over the last year or so, it's been about getting in and executing and doing my job well. And I feel like when I first got in, it was, ‘alright, how can I handle this offense as a whole,’ just mentally with how [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] calls it and the language that it is, it's tough man. And you’ve got to study, you’ve got to be on top of your stuff. And I feel like I've grown in that area for sure. And then I think just for myself, the challenge for me now is, man, how can I continue to have that mentality of having the chip on my shoulder and competing every down in the game for four quarters? I feel like when I first got in my rookie year, there was this, this energy of, ‘hey, I'm a young guy getting thrown in, man, I'm going to just show my guys that I can compete and bring it and bring it every down and every play and give our team a chance.’ And sometimes, like when you play for a long time, you can sort of lose that and get into the mental part of the game of, I just, I need to do this in the game or that in the game. But what it boils down to is for four quarters, man, how can you compete and elevate everybody else's game around you by doing what it takes to win and that simplicity of it. So, I feel like that's still an area that I can learn from and grow and be reminded that that's what football is.”

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