Brock Purdy's MVP case is on a collision course with motivated Falcons' defense

The Atlanta Falcons will have their work cut out for them on Sunday, as hosting the 6-0 San Francisco 49ers is no easy task. They've probably been the most dangerous team in the NFC to date, and a big reason for that is the quarterback play of Brock Purdy, who has been nails this season.

The debates about whether or not Purdy is truly elite have been put to bed, as if the season ended today, he'd probably win MVP. Going from being Mr. Irrelevant to an MVP frontrunner is an insane journey, and that's chip on his shoulder is probably never going away as evidenced by his production.

Purdy is tied with Kirk Cousins and Trevor Lawrence for the league lead with 14 passing touchdowns, he has the highest career passer rating in NFL history, and is the reason the 49ers are leading the NFL in EPA success rate, as he's been taking care of the football and is still generating big-time plays.

The Falcons don't have a lot of ways to slow Brock Purdy and the 49ers down

And while playing with weapons like Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle will always make his life easier, he's no longer a product of his environment. If anything, he's the reason the Niners have been so great because he's an elite processor who has the talent to escape the pocket and throw dots.

Jeff Ulbrich's defense badly needs a get-right opportunity after allowing the Ravens and Bears to walk them down these last two weeks. And having a chance to derail his MVP campaign (and spoil Raheem Morris' return to Atlanta) should be motivation enough, but that doesn't mean that it'll end the way we want it to.

At least the Falcons' defense will be closer to full strength for this game, as A.J. Terrell is in line to be activated off IR while C.J. Henderson told reporters he should play on Sunday. And Kendal Daniels is practicing in full and seems to have a real shot to play just days after getting stretchered off the field.

A matchup with the Atlanta Falcons' defense may help Brock Purdy pad his MVP case

However, even that may not matter all that much.

According to SumerSports, Purdy is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL at avoiding taking sacks when faced with pressure. He gets dropped just 8.2% of the time when pressured, and the only qualified passer (min. 100 dropbacks) who gets sacked less when pressured is Dallas' Dak Prescott.

Even in the face of pressure, he's able to make throws like this.

So Za'Darius Smith, Cameron Thomas, Gervon Dexter Sr., and the rest of this defensive line that's near the top of the NFL in both pressures and pressure rate can really only overwhelm him. And given what we know about the 26-year-old, that gameplan from the Dirty Birds is bound to not work out.

Kevin Stefanski even said Purdy might be the best off-schedule quarterback in football right now. The Falcons know what they're up against because the veteran only gets better out of structure. Yet when the pocket is clean and he's given the time to throw in structure, he's proven to be just as dangerous.

Essentially, the only way to slow him down is to cross your fingers and pray the secondary will hold up in coverage against a depleted San Francisco WR room, but that's only part of the issue. McCaffrey and Kittle are his favorite targets despite not being WRs, and wanting to stack the box against CMC while having a linebacker or safety neutralize Kittle makes it tough to do both simultaneously.

No matter what the Falcons do, Purdy and the 49ers will always have something going for them. Kyle Shanahan does a fantastic job calling this offense and making it a losing matchup regardless of what defenses do to adjust, which is why they have scored 30+ points in three of their six games this year.

Brock Purdy has taken the leap towards being one of the best quarterbacks in football this season, and while not many had him being an MVP favorite on their bingo cards, it doesn't change the fact he's a matchup nightmare for most defenses--including the Falcons on Sunday.

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