All things considered, San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy had something of a charmed rookie season. The last pick in the 2022 draft, he began the year as the third-string quarterback before being forced into the lineup due to injury. All he did then was win, helping take them to the conference finals before an elbow injury supplied an untimely end to the fairytale.
But he’s back on the field, healed up, and ready to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers—not insignificant given that they led the NFL last season in interceptions. That included a league-leading six by All-Pro S Minkah Fitzpatrick, about whom Purdy spoke yesterday.
“He’s all over the film, just flying around, reading the quarterback’s eyes. They give him a lot of freedom to be himself and play”, he said, via the team’s website. “While watching it, it’s like, we’ve got to play our game. We’ve got to play within our scheme, not trying to get wrapped up in just one single guy, because they have players all across the board, so it’s not just him”.
“We respect him and everything he does, yes, but I’ve got to just play the play that Coach calls and do what we’re trying to get accomplished throughout the game, every single drive, every single play”, he added. “There’s 10 other guys on the field, too, that are also really good”.
One of those guys is also future Hall of Fame CB Patrick Peterson, who said that he would get an interception in the opener against the 49ers because San Francisco’s offense has enough tells that the Steelers will know what’s coming. “We’ll see”, Purdy said. Peterson had five interceptions last season, while Fitzpatrick’s six were as many as he had in his first two full seasons in Pittsburgh combined.
Fitzpatrick is tied for the third-most interceptions in the NFL since 2019 when he first joined the Steelers, trailing only J.C. Jackson and Justin Simmons. He has at least two interceptions in each of his five NFL seasons, including three seasons with at least four, all with the Steelers. He also has multiple seasons with double-digit passes defensed.
Purdy has been gently reminded that he has never faced Fitzpatrick before. He does have the advantage of practicing against a ball-hawking defense, himself. The 49ers actually shared the NFL lead in interceptions with the Steelers last year with 20, so he knows a little thing or two about what it takes to protect the football.
In five starts over nine games, Purdy did throw four interceptions on 170 pass attempts, or 2.4 percent of his passes, a bit elevated. But he made up for that with 13 touchdowns, and he completed more than two-thirds of his attempts, averaging 8.1 yards per attempt with a 107.3 quarterback rating.
Still, he might want to just keep an eye on where Fitzpatrick is on the field. That’s how the Steelers defense is preparing for Purdy’s teammates. According to defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, they have specific players highlighted, like WR Deebo Samuel and RB Christian McCaffrey, by reserves wearing their respective jersey numbers, to stress the urgency of finding them and getting them down when they get the ball.
Fitzpatrick got the Steelers’ 2022 season off on the right foot, intercepting Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow on his very first pass attempt and returning it for a touchdown. He preserved the game by blocking an extra point attempt at the end of regulation to send it into overtime, as well, so it’s not just Purdy who should be mindful of where the eventual All-Decade free safety is at all times. Even when he takes a bathroom break.
