San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has turned a small sample into a historic start. Through four games, the 49ers are unbeaten, and Purdy is the central reason. On Sunday, San Francisco travels to Seattle to face the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks in a game that will test the NFC West hierarchy.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter shared the numbers before the matchup. Purdy’s 89.6 Total QBR is the highest by any quarterback through four games since 2020, when NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers had a 90.6 Total QBR. Purdy is also the first quarterback with at least 10 touchdown passes and zero sacks taken in the first four games of a season since Dan Marino in 1984, the year Marino won NFL MVP.
The raw stats match the advanced ones. Purdy has completed 69.9% of his passes for 1,007 yards, 11 touchdowns and just one interception. He has rushed 20 times for 122 yards and a touchdown. He has not been sacked. In Week 4, a 24–14 win over the Denver Broncos, Purdy threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns with a 107.4 passer rating. It was, by his new standards, a quiet afternoon.
San Francisco’s offense has not been at full strength. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is out for the season. De’Zhaun Stribling, Christian Kirk and DeMarcus Robinson are all on injured reserve. Veteran Mike Evans has played through pain, including a rib issue. Still, Purdy has kept the operation moving. He has Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle to lean on, but the receiver corps has been decimated.
Against Denver, Purdy became the first 49ers quarterback to start a season with multiple touchdown passes in each of the first four games since Steve Young in 1998. He is tied for the league lead with 11 touchdown passes. He ranks first in passer rating at 126.2, first in QBR at 89.6 and first in net yards per attempt at 8.9. His EPA per dropback of 0.53 is far ahead of the next quarterback, Lamar Jackson, at 0.29. His success rate of 60.7% is best among quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks.
The NFC West looks different than expected. The Los Angeles Rams entered the season as prohibitive Super Bowl favorites and the clear best team in the division. Now the Rams are 2–2 and hosting the Buffalo Bills. Quarterback Matthew Stafford has struggled with six interceptions and ranks 17th in QBR at 58.6. Sam Darnold has battled a hip injury and missed most of two weeks. The Seahawks are 3–1 and aiming to claim first place. The 49ers are 4–0, with a 27–7 win over the Rams in Week 1 already in hand.
The last meeting between San Francisco and Seattle came in January in the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs. Seattle won in dominant fashion, 41–6. This is a different version of the 49ers, and few quarterbacks are playing better football than Purdy. The Seahawks know that. The division knows that. The MVP conversation, at least in October, knows that too.
In the NFL MVP tracker, Purdy leads the rankings through four weeks. Josh Allen, Kenneth Walker III, Trevor Lawrence and Jaxon Smith-Njigba follow. Walker, the Kansas City running back, leads the NFL with 537 rushing yards and has forced a league-high 40 missed tackles. Smith-Njigba, Seattle’s receiver, has 481 receiving yards, six touchdowns and 25 first downs. But no quarterback has matched Purdy’s efficiency. He is on pace for 4,279 yards, 46 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Purdy enters the Seattle game with 11 touchdown passes, one interception and zero sacks. The 49ers are 4–0. The Seahawks are 3–1. The last meeting ended 41–6 in Seattle’s favor.
