Brock Purdy may be walking into the kind of matchup that looks ugly on paper for San Francisco, but one number suggests the 49ers quarterback could make life frustrating for Myles Garrett in his Rams debut.
The 49ers are headed to Australia to meet their NFC West rivals, and the buzz around the game is obvious. Garrett is set to debut for the Rams, while Aaron Donald has also recently unretired, giving the defense the kind of star power that has prompted “superteam” chatter from fans and pundits. Los Angeles is a 3.5-point favorite and is currently viewed as the team most likely to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy this season.
That’s the backdrop. Purdy’s case is the counterpunch.
A social media graphic making the rounds this week showed quarterbacks’ EPA per dropback from 2023-2025, and Purdy landed fourth on the list. Only Drake Maye, Josh Allen, and Patrick Mahomes were above him. The post was aimed at Jared Goff, but it also underscored something Purdy has shown repeatedly: he handles pressure better than his reputation suggests.
Jared Goff is literally the worst most pressure-sensitive QB in football @FantasyPtsData https://t.co/g8Vm0sf90n pic.twitter.com/eMa02boPe0
- Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) September 3, 2026
That matters here because Garrett is no ordinary pass rusher. He led the league in sacks last season, and San Francisco has already seen what he can do against Purdy - or, more accurately, what he hasn’t done.
Garrett has faced Purdy twice. In the 49ers’ loss to Cleveland in 2023, he managed only one QB hit and did not record a sack. In 2025, he got to Purdy once, but San Francisco still won 26-8.
Those results don’t guarantee anything in Melbourne, especially with the 49ers dealing with injuries and leaning hard on their franchise players to carry the offense. The Rams’ defense is a different animal, and the question is whether it can do what Garrett and company couldn’t quite manage before: rattle Purdy enough to take San Francisco out of rhythm.
Kyle Shanahan is 11-8 against the Rams in his career, but Purdy’s own record against them sits at 1-2, and this could be his toughest divisional test yet. For the 49ers to have a real shot, Purdy will need to hold up against the rush long enough to get the ball to his receivers downfield.
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49ers Suddenly Have Real Trade Deadline Pressure To Go For It
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Pass-rush help is the area most often mentioned around the Niners, and that alone tells you where the pressure is building. Jared Verse has been one of the names floated as a possible target, and his contract status for the next two years only adds to the intrigue for a team that wants more disruption up front without sacrificing long-term control. The question for San Francisco is no longer whether it can afford to chase a difference-maker, but whether this is the moment to spend the capital to do it. [Read more 🡒]