Brock Purdy had about as good of a September as any quarterback can expect to have. The San Francisco 49ers signal-caller played at an MVP level through the first three games of the 2026 season, and he has a legitimate case as the best quarterback in the league through the first month of action. There are plenty of stats and metrics that back up why Purdy would win the award if it was given out today, but there is also the eye test, which he has passed by every mark.

Purdy has been playing Kyle Shanahan’s system to perfection while dealing with a lot of injuries around him in the pass-catching department. On top of that, he has been extending plays and creating opportunities on his own. That combination of execution and improvisation is what separates an MVP-caliber month from a merely good one.

A historic QBR puts Purdy in elite company

Now, as far as the stats are concerned, Purdy blows a few of them out of the park. He posted a QBR of 93.7, which is the highest of any quarterback in his team’s first three games of the season since ESPN introduced the metric in 2006. That alone is remarkable, but the company it puts him in makes it even more significant.

Three of the other four quarterbacks who posted a QBR that high through their first three games went on to win MVP. Those were Tom Brady in 2007, Peyton Manning in 2013, and Josh Allen in 2024. That’s a pretty clear trend, and it puts Purdy on a trajectory that should have the entire league paying attention.

QBR is calculated by measuring the expected points added on every single play, dividing that credit between the quarterback and his teammates. It also accounts for passing, rushing, scrambles, sacks avoided, penalties, and turnovers, and it weighs based on the down, distance, field position, time, score, and strength of the opponent’s defense. It takes away garbage time, too. 

Brock Purdy posting a 93.7 in that metric means he is playing the quarterback position better than anyone else right now, at an MVP level. That’s not my opinion. That’s what the numbers say.

Passer rating tells the same story

Another metric that points in Purdy’s favor is passer rating, which is strictly based on pass attempts. It includes everything from completion percentage to touchdowns, yards, and average. Purdy leads the NFL with a 133.1 passer rating, six points higher than the second-place man, Drew Lock, out of Seattle. The scale goes up to 158.3, a perfect rating, and Purdy is only 25 points shy of that mark through three games. That is incredible.

Aaron Rodgers leads the all-time mark with a passer rating of 122.1 over the course of the 2011 season. Purdy has a real chance of beating that. 

His performance against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday was a perfect example. Purdy went 15 of 27 through the air for 297 yards and four touchdowns. He has been on fire to start this season, and that game was just the latest chapter.

The eye test matches the numbers

Look, you don’t need to hear all of these numbers to know that Brock Purdy is playing great football. We can all watch and see it out there on the field. The metrics simply back up what has been an outstanding month of September. Two of those three games came against divisional opponents, and the other was against the Miami Dolphins. That’s not as soft of a schedule as you think.

Things will pick up as San Francisco faces some more high-powered teams later in the season, and that’s where the real test will come. But for right now, Brock Purdy is playing at an MVP level. The history behind his QBR number says that’s not just a hot start. It could be the beginning of something much bigger.