Two NFL MVP candidates will face off in Week 16 when Brock Purdy and Lamar Jackson duel on Christmas Day. Jackson has evolved in one the NFL’s better quarterbacks since the Baltimore Ravens drafted him in the end of the first round in 2018. He’s put up record-breaking numbers as a dual-threat quarterback, and was the NFL MVP in 2019.
Meanwhile, Purdy has been a pleasant surprise over the past season and a half. Originally an afterthought when the San Francisco 49ers drafted him last overall in 2022, Purdy rose to the challenge while filling in due to quarterback injuries. His initial success was credited to the team around him, but as Purdy emerges into a true MVP candidate, it’s hard not to recognize the totality of game.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh offered his own insight into what makes Purdy so good, with similarities to how Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton described Purdy Wednesday.
“He has visions. He extracts the ball quickly. He can make every throw. According to The Athletic’s David Lombardi, Harbaugh said of Purdy, “He throws a beautiful ball, moves around the pocket, scrambles when he needs to, throws on the run when he needs to, and operates the system really well—all the things that I’m sure their coaches really want to see in a quarterback.”
As Harbaugh noted, this season Brock Purdy has established a reputation for foresight and judgment. On top of this, he can make plays with his legs and improvise in the pocket when necessary, like he did on his touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey against the Cardinals. The second-year quarterback currently leads the NFL in passing touchdowns, yards per attempt, QBR, and passer rating as a result of these attributes. At 9.9 yards per attempt, he has completed 69.8% of his throws for 3,795 yards and 29 touchdowns.
