The San Francisco 49ers defeated the New York Giants in Week 3 to the tune of 30-12, with quarterback Brock Purdy throwing for over 300 yards for the first time this season, despite facing a unique defensive approach from defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
To combat the 49ers' high-octane offense, the Giants elected to blitz at the highest rate in the Next Gen Stats era, sending extra pressure at Purdy on 33/39(84.6%) of his dropbacks.
After some early inefficiencies, Purdy settled in, finishing 20/31 with 247 yards and two touchdowns against the blitz, which included a high-level throw-and-catch to rookie wideout Ronnie Bell while backpedaling.
Purdy's performance against the blitz was good enough that former NFL quarterback and current analyst Dan Orlovsky deemed the 49ers quarterback as one of the best young signal-callers against the blitz.
"When I watch Brock Purdy, I think he's one of the best young guys handling the blitz," Orlovsky said, via NBC Sports's Tristi Rodriguez. "Six guys at the line of scrimmage for the Giants, six guys in protection for the 49ers. We're good, right? We got six-on-six. ... Brock Purdy's got to know, 'I'm warm, I'm not hot. We got six-on-six, but I got to drift away from that back.'
"He does a great job of backpedaling but also drifting and now blowing this ball over the corners."
There is a difference between being "warm" and "hot" for a QB
Brock Purdy is the best at knowing and handling as a young QB as I've ever seen@49ers @nwagoner @MaioccoNBCS @mattbarrows @Niners @NinersNation #nfllive pic.twitter.com/yEce3qgvoJ
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 22, 2023
Orlovsky dug deeper into his praise for Purdy, pointing out his understanding of being warm or hot, and where to go when those situations occur.
"I think he's one of the best youngest guys when it comes to understanding what it means to be warm, and where to go," Orlovsky added. "Understanding what it means to be hot, and where to go with the football. And I'll say this, we lose sight of the fact that he's still a very young player, and for him to own that, and in many ways, master it, I think that's the most impressive part of a very high-end game for Brock Purdy."
Purdy's understanding of the blitz was seen in San Francisco's Week 3 win over the New York Giants, and while he did have some off-target passes, the offense was still able to accumulate significant yardage through the air and find success against extra pressure.