Kyle Shanahan puts Brock Purdy in company with former MVP after win

Posted by Admin September 29, 2026 NFL

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has opened the 2026 season playing the best football of his career, as the offense has been on a tear through three games.

Purdy has thrown for 789 yards, nine touchdowns, and one interception, while rushing for 93 more yards and another score. He’s completing 72.3 percent of his passes and averaging 9.5 yards per attempt, as the 49ers have averaged nearly 33 points a game so far.

While there has been some strong quarterback play to start the year, Purdy has quickly put himself in the MVP conversation with the 49ers’ 3-0 start. Over the years, head coach Kyle Shanahan has seemingly put the ball in Purdy’s hands in key situations more often, and he did so again to seal the deal on Sunday, as the 49ers threw their way to victory at the end.

Purdy dropped back four times on San Francisco‘s game-sealing drive up two with 2:51 to go, which included a 20-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle to put the 49ers up nine with 90 seconds remaining.

The quarterback position has long been talked about for the 49ers under Kyle Shanahan, who has been able to field successful offenses regardless of who has been at the helm. But it’s clear he’s easily been the most confident with Purdy calling the shots. Is this the most confident he’s been in a quarterback during his coaching career?

“I had that [level of confidence] with Matt [Ryan] in ’16,” Shanahan said after the game. “Had it in [Matt] Schaub way back in the day. And I’ve had it with Brock, I think, four years in a row now.”

And that feeling has been echoed throughout the building.

“Yes, I think Kyle’s confidence in Brock is incredibly high,” George Kittle said. “Brock’s confidence is incredibly high. It’s different. We can be in a Wednesday practice and Brock might miss a pass and I think in years past, Kyle would be frustrated with him for not hitting that pass or another quarterback for not hitting that pass. Now, Kyle is like, ‘nah, he’ll hit it on gameday.’ It’s fun to see that in that relationship with them.”

“Yeah, it’s electric [watching Purdy play],” safety Malik Mustapha added. “We always knew that Purdy was going to be a top quarterback in this league. I’m glad he’s getting the respect he deserves. We see how he works day in and day out and I’m just glad he’s getting his flowers.”

Even with the injury situation getting dire, the 49ers have looked like true contenders in 2026. And Purdy is the biggest reason for it.