We can argue about Brock Purdy’s MVP candidacy all we want, but one thing is certain: the San Francisco 49ers’ second-year quarterback is performing about as well as head coach Kyle Shanahan could ever ask or anticipate. Yes, Purdy is being tutored by an offensive coordinator who could make me look like a respectable NFL quarterback (I was a linebacker) and is throwing to a supporting cast full of great playmakers, but let’s give the kid his roses.
At the moment, Purdy leads the NFL in passer rating (116.1), QBR (75.6), touchdown percentage (6.9) and completion percentage (70.2), and his counting stats (3,185 passing yards and 23 passing touchdowns) certainly qualify him to be in the NFL MVP conversation. And if he continues playing at this level, he could soon surpass a record that was set by four-time Super Bowl champion and Niners legend, Joe Montana.
“Purdy has six consecutive games with a completion percentage of 70 or higher, and he can become the fourth quarterback in NFL history to do it seven times in a row if he passes that mark in Sunday’s NFC West showdown with the Seattle Seahawks,” Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. “Only Montana (eight consecutive games in 1989), Sam Bradford (seven consecutive in 2016) and Drew Brees (seven consecutive in 2016) have done that.”
So here’s the question that 49ers fans have to ask themselves when they read those previous two sentences… Is Brock Purdy closer to Sam Bradford, or to Drew Brees and Joe Montana? Now this question surely seems preposterous, but once upon a time the thought of comparing Tom Brady to Joe Montana seemed equally insane. Isn’t that how it always goes.
If Purdy is a true NFL MVP candidate — not just a man in the MVP conversation — and the guy that 49ers fans and everyone inside the organization appear to believe he is — that guy — then the Niners are in business for the foreseeable future. In any case, he’s getting closer to making history, and his recent play suggests he’ll keep it up against Seattle.
