Can Purdy, Love kickstart new rivalry?
The NFL is at its best when it has excellent quarterback rivalries.
And, lucky them, a new one might begin on Saturday in Santa Clara.
Every minute on ESPN and FS1 this week will be spent noting that the NFL has a great quarterback rivalry for this modern era, as Patrick Mahomes will play Josh Allen in Buffalo on Sunday.
But starting Saturday and in the coming years, we might be talking about Jordan Love and Brock Purdy the same way.
For two decades, the AFC was the superior conference because it had the superior quarterbacks.
And from 2004 to 2017, save for one season, that conference’s champion was either Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger.
You could count on the best of the best to face each other in the playoffs every year. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the league more than doubled its annual revenue over that stretch.
The NFC has lacked those kinds of showdowns this century. Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick played second fiddle to the team’s defenses. Brady and Aaron Rodgers only faced off once during the former’s time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Los Angeles Rams took one quarterback to the Super Bowl and won it with another. Somehow, the Chicago Bears were in the NFC Championship during that stretch — twice.
But Purdy vs. Love has a chance to break the mold.
In his first full season as San Francisco’s starter, Purdy nearly won the MVP. He led the NFL in passer rating and yards per attempt, and was second in completion percentage. With Purdy pushing the ball down the field, the 49ers had the best offense in the NFL this season by a wide margin.
Save for the Christmas night debacle against the Ravens, Purdy has been elite. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
And yet there’s an argument to be made that he is the second-best quarterback in Saturday’s game against Green Bay.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love had a bumpy start to his first season as starter, but patience has paid off: He has been on a heater since Thanksgiving, throwing 19 touchdowns to just one interception, posting a 115.5 passer rating over his last eight games, which includes his effectively perfect wild-card round win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
These are two young quarterbacks, 24 and 25, who have figured out how to play the game at the highest level.
And there’s serious staying power here, as both have great organizations and elite head coaches behind them. Plus, they’re both operating offenses predicated on the same quarterback-maximizing principles.
So why wouldn’t Saturday be the start of a great rivalry?
Yes, the AFC might still have the superior quarterbacks, and sure, Purdy-Love might not turn into the NFC’s version of Brady-Manning (and who would be Roethlisberger in this case?). But perhaps this matchup can be something to counter Mahomes and Allen. How about a modern version of Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas, Terry Bradshaw and Ken Stabler?
Saturday will let us know if there’s something here.
Of course, the two quarterbacks won’t face each other — they’ll face the opposing defense. That’s where the separation might be found.
Love has been spectacular as of late, but during that stretch, he hasn’t faced a defense like the 49ers’, which has elite players at every level and is anything but front-running. They’re also rested and playing at home, which makes them exceptionally dangerous.
Purdy, on the other hand, will face a defense that had a big game against the Cowboys, but was the sixth-worst in the NFL this season, per DVOA.
Yes, there’s a reason the 49ers are 10-point favorites on Saturday (and rising) — San Francisco is better. Perhaps the young Packers close the gap in the years to come, but on Saturday, Green Bay cannot win with anything less than Love’s best.
Lucky for them, that best might be good enough.
And it might be good enough for years to come.
This is a league where success is predicated on the head coach and quarterback, and both teams are coming into Saturday’s game with the best of the best at both positions. I see no reason that will change in the years to come.
So no matter what happens Saturday, expect these two quarterbacks to battle it out once or twice a year for years to come — the best of the best have a funny way of finding each other.