To San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, his quarterback, Brock Purdy, and the signal-caller he’ll be trying to sack next weekend, Jordan Love, are similar.
In his eyes, at least, they’re two peas in a pod.
Their draft positions couldn’t be any further apart, of course. The Packers traded up to select Love with the 26th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Purdy was selected No. 262 in 2022. He was the so-called “Mr. Irrelevant” who became very relevant for San Francisco since his selection.
Still, when asked what he sees in Love, Bosa kind of described his own quarterback.
“He’s really good at going through his reads and playing the offense to a T. We definitely need to stop the run. I don’t think many teams have made him uncomfortable yet, so stopping the run and covering up those easy, open guys is something we have to do,” Bosa said, per Sports Illustrated.
It was brought up to Bosa that his scouting report of Love sounds a lot like how a defense would try to stop Purdy. Stop Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers running game while doing your best to get in the way of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle — and you’ve got a shot to beat the 49ers.
The same could be said for Green Bay. Stop the Aaron Jones-led running game and get sticky on the likes of Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft and you’ve got a chance to shut down a red-hot Packers offense.
“I think they both go through their reads really smooth and they’re accurate. I’ve seen more from Brock in terms of making plays, but we definitely have to be ready for him,” Bosa said of Love.
Bosa is right that Love has certainly mastered head coach Matt LaFleur’s offensive scheme in the second part of the season, and that’s what has made Green Bay so dangerous. Where he may have it wrong is in assuming that Love is simply a “system quarterback,” though.
The Dallas Cowboys seemingly made that mistake in the wild-card round, and Love carved them up for 272 yards and three touchdowns. The scary thing is, that’s become quite a normal outing for him.
Since Nov. 5, Love has thrown for 2,939 yards and 24 touchdowns. Since Oct. 29, Purdy has thrown for 2,612 yards and 20 touchdowns. Yes, he’s had one fewer game in that timeframe because San Francisco had a first-round bye, but he has also thrown eight interceptions to Love’s one.
If Bosa thinks Purdy has become a playmaker, Love certainly fits the bill as well.
