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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

49ers' Kyle Shanahan fires back at 'ridiculous' Brock Purdy narrative

By Vinny Somma | Last updated 10/5/23

For a franchise that hangs Joe Montana's and Steve Young's jerseys in the rafters, Brock Purdy owns the San Francisco 49ers record for the highest completion percentage (95.2) in a single game. The second-year signal-caller accomplished the feat in a flawless Week 4 showing against the Arizona Cardinals, completing 20-of-21 passes for 283 yards and one touchdown.

San Francisco moved to 4-0 on the season with the 35-16 victory over the Cardinals, extending Purdy's undefeated regular-season record to 9-0 to begin his career. Yet, despite Purdy's steady play, his success continues to be marginalized due to the team's quarterback-friendly system and the embarrassment of riches throughout the 49ers roster.

On Wednesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan denounced the notion that Purdy is a product of the system around him.

"That's pretty ridiculous," Shanahan said. "You just got to watch the tape. I mean, he plays at a high level every time he's been out there. And he's done it in a lot of different situations versus a lot of different defenses, on the road, at home, in playoff games, when injured. You can't do all that stuff. He's been out there too long. It's on tape."

Kyle Shanahan says it's "ridiculous" to believe Brock Purdy's success is just a product of the 49ers' system pic.twitter.com/Po18yMH01x
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) October 4, 2023

There's no denying that Shanahan's scheme helps ease the burden on the quarterback position. One of the NFL's true offensive gurus, Shanahan has overseen eight separate top-10 offenses as an NFL offensive coordinator or head coach over his career. Having a skill group of Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle at his disposal certainly doesn't hurt either.

Since 2021, San Francisco has not finished with an offense ranked lower than seventh in total yards. Through four games this season, the 49ers are averaging the second-most yards (398.0) and third-most points (31.3) in the NFL per contest.

Clearly, Shanahan and the personnel in San Fran are all reasons for the team's offensive success. Nevertheless, that shouldn't discount what Purdy has brought to the table.

Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy are becoming quite the duo

: @TheHerd pic.twitter.com/p43MhWme2s
— Mark Sanchez (@Mark_Sanchez) October 4, 2023

Over the first month of the NFL season, Purdy leads all quarterbacks in passer rating (115.1) and QBR (84.6). His 254.8 passing YPG rank eighth in the NFL, and he is one of only three starting signal-callers not to throw an interception on the year — Josh Dobbs of the Cardinals and Houston Texans rookie C.J. Stroud are the others. In fact, Purdy has not tossed an interception in 211 attempts dating back to last season, 38 shy of a 49ers record (Alex Smith from 2011-2012).

Ultimately, San Francisco could likely compete without Purdy under center — the Niners held their own with Jimmy Garoppolo as their starter in years past. Yet, with Purdy at the helm, the 49ers elevate to surefire title contenders.

Many quarterbacks have flashed in Shanahan's system over the years, but Purdy has the offense firing at another level. The unit has scored 30-plus points in every game this season and all but three times over the last 14 regular-season games dating back to last year.

If Purdy has a statement performance in Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys, the conversation surrounding the 49ers quarterback should silence the naysayers and kick-start a deserving MVP campaign.

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