Four years after being handed the “Mr. Irrelevant” label that comes with the last slot in the NFL Draft, Brock Purdy owns the highest career passer rating ever recorded. He crossed the 1,500-attempt mark the league requires to qualify for the record during the first quarter of the San Francisco 49ers’ 23-17 win over the Washington Commanders on Monday night, and by the end of the drive the all-time list read Purdy first, Lamar Jackson second.
Through 55 career games, Purdy has completed 1,038 of 1,524 passes for 13,145 yards, with 98 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. His career passer rating sits at 105.6, ahead of Jackson’s 102.7. Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes fill out the top five on the all-time list.
Purdy was taken 262nd in the 2022 NFL Draft, the final selection of the entire class. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has described him before as “automatic.”
A 20-3 lead that nearly slipped
San Francisco led 20-3 at halftime and 23-3 early in the third quarter at Levi’s Stadium before the finish turned anxious. Jayden Daniels threw two second-half touchdown passes and Washington outgained the 49ers 224 yards to 72 after the break. Christian McCaffrey ran in two scores, extending his touchdown streak to five straight games, and tight end George Kittle caught five passes for 69 yards and the 49ers’ other touchdown.
Read also: Paris Masters is holding a place for Monfils, if the retired Frenchman decides to take it
Purdy himself finished 21-of-29 for 264 yards and a touchdown, with a game passer rating of 111.9.
With six seconds left and Washington facing third-and-22, defensive linemen Romello Height and Keion White combined to sack Daniels for an 18-yard loss as the clock ran out.
Purdy’s own read on the night was focused on the group that bailed him out.
“Obviously, offensively and for myself in the second half, it’s tough. For our defense to do what they did at the end, that was really impressive,” he told reporters afterwards.
The chase: Chiefs and Vikings keep pace
San Francisco’s 6-0 is the only perfect record in the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs sit at 5-0 after returning from a bye to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 22-6, and the Minnesota Vikings are 5-0 after their own Week 6 bye. Both teams have played one game fewer than the 49ers.
Jackson, who held the previous mark, remains active for the Baltimore Ravens and sits second on the all-time list. The 2.9-point gap on paper is wide enough that Purdy “will probably keep the record for a while,” Pro Football Talk wrote, “as he’s far enough ahead of the pack that no one would surpass him unless he has a disastrous end to the season while one of those quarterbacks behind him puts up record-setting numbers.”
The 49ers travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons on Sunday, 25 October at 1pm local time.
Read also: Arsenal and Manchester United set for January transfer battle over £54m Premier League star
