All 49ers

Stats Show 49ers QB Brock Purdy is Struggling to Beat Man Coverage

NFL defensive coordinators may have found Brock Purdy's kryptonite.

Grant Cohn

Oct 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) runs the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Oct 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) runs the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
In this story:

NFL defensive coordinators may have found Brock Purdy's kryptonite.

We know he's an outstanding anticipatory thrower against zone coverage. But this season, he's struggling big time against man-to-man coverage. Check out the stats.

Through 7 games, Purdy's completion percentage against man coverage is a mere 41.1, which ranks 33rd in the NFL. In addition, his quarterback rating against man coverage is 59.3, which ranks 32nd in the league.

Now check out Purdy's numbers this season against zone coverage: 73.7% completions (sixth best in the NFL) and 130.7 quarterback rating (tops in the league).

In the past, teams were hesitant to use man coverage against the 49ers because they couldn't match up with Christian McCaffrey. He was a man-coverage beater. No linebacker in the league can handle him one on one out of the backfield. So teams mostly played zone against Purdy and he shredded.

Now teams are playing man coverage against him without fear and he's not making them pay. Often, his best plays against man coverage are scrambles. And part of that is because his receivers aren't getting open quickly. But another part is that beating man coverage requires arm talent, not just anticipation, and Purdy simply doesn't throw with much velocity.

That's why Purdy seems so indecisive against man coverage. He often predetermines a matchup he likes before the snap, and if that player doesn't get open, he holds the ball forever and runs around until he figures out what to do.

He better figure out how to beat man coverage soon or that's all he'll see the rest of the season.

Download and follow The Best 49ers Podcast.

Published
Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

Home/News