Will the 49ers be Able to Handle the Blitz in Super Bowl LVIII?

When you play against a Steve Spagnuolo defense, you have to be ready for disguise and pressure. Spags does a great job of finding ways to break down protections and get free rushers to the quarterback. Nick wrote yesterday about how he does that using Chris Jones to influence the protection.

The good news for the 49ers is that Kyle Shanahan also does a great job of creating ways to identify blitzes and providing answers against pressure. And while Brock Purdy has struggled a bit in this area during the playoffs, he’s been excellent at recognizing the blitz and responding accordingly all season. At least that’s what the all-22 and his ridiculous 134.8 QB rating against the blitz tell me (Pro-Football-Reference).

Below are several examples of how the 49ers have been able to successfully handle different pressure schemes this season.

This first play came against Wink Martindale’s blitz-happy Giants in Week 3. Pre-snap, Shanahan motioned running back Christian McCaffrey from the backfield to the perimeter to help provide Purdy with a clean picture of the potential pressure. Linebacker Bobby Okereke followed:

That was an indicator of man coverage. Given where they were on the field, the fact that the Giants appeared to be matching up in man coverage across the board, and the 6 defenders on the line of scrimmage threatening to rush, this appeared to be a cover-0 blitz:

For the record, cover-0 pressure is something Spagnuolo likes to bring (and will even do so outside of the red zone).

With the defense identified, now it was on Purdy to execute. Against cover-0 blitz, quarterbacks don’t work through progressions. They pick their favorite matchup or route and make the throw to beat the coverage. Here, Purdy liked Ronnie Bell’s route from the slot against Deonte Banks: