Packers star reveals secret to stopping Brock Purdy

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Packers star reveals secret to stopping 49ers' Brock Purdy ahead of showdown

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 1/17/24

The San Francisco 49ers don’t lose often with Brock Purdy as their starting quarterback.

But Green Bay Packers linebacker Devonte Wyatt believes after watching Purdy this season that he and the rest of his defense learned something important that could potentially help them knock the 49ers off in their divisional-round matchup: how to force Purdy into turning the ball over.

“When D-linemen just get pressure into him, he’s always throwing off or it’s behind them or it’s overthrown or short,” Wyatt said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “When you get pressure on him, it’s a guarantee we’ll get a turnover.”

There may be something to Wyatt’s theory.

When pressured this season, Purdy had the third-most batted passes (five), and he was tied for the sixth-most interceptions (six) and sixth-highest turnover-worthy play percentage (5.4), per Pro Football Focus.

The one through line of 49ers losses is turnovers, specifically from Brock Purdy.

Ravens - 4 INTs
Bengals - 2 INTs, 1 fumble
Vikings - 2 INTs
Browns - 1 INT

Had a fumble that didn't end in a turnover vs. CLE
— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) January 17, 2024

In his four losses this season, Purdy threw nine interceptions and fumbled the ball twice while being pressured on 44% of his dropbacks. For context, Purdy was pressured just 36% of the time in his 12 wins, per PFF.

If the Packers have a chance of pulling off the upset in Santa Clara, they likely will have to rely on their defensive front, which is one of the stoutest in the NFC. The Packers ranked 17th in sacks during the regular season (45), and they generated 20.8 pressures, 13.8 hurries and 3.7 QB hits per game.

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