The upcoming game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys has even the diehard Cowboys fan and "Undisputed" host, Skip Bayless, feeling uneasy. What is it about Kyle Shanahan's squad that has him sweating about the Week 5 matchup between NFC heavyweights?
Is it the dynamic presence of running back Christian McCaffrey? Perhaps it's the formidable duo of receivers, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel? Could it be defensive stars like pass rusher Nick Bosa or linebacker Fred Warner?
No, it's quarterback Brock Purdy.
Despite the 49ers being 3.5-point favorites at home, Bayless has boldly predicted a Cowboys upset, foreseeing a 20-17 victory for his team.
"I will admit, publicly, I don't have great conviction in my pick," Bayless confessed.
That lack of confidence stems from the outstanding play of the 49ers' second-year quarterback.
"Brock Purdy scares me to death going into Sunday night because the harder I look, the better he looks," Bayless said. "The more I want him to mess up, screw up, get exposed, the harder I look for that, the more he does nothing wrong. I'm saying, what does he ever do wrong?
"You talk about only five touchdowns, [he also has] zero picks in four games. He just does not turn the ball over, and yet, he is running away with QBR. He's running away with it. He has surpassed [Dolphins QB] Tua [Tagovailoa] by six points. That's a huge gap. He is running away with passer rating.
"And the key stat that he's running away with exposes all those people who think that he's just a game manager, system quarterback, because, check this out: On passes thrown over 10 yards this year in the National Football League, he leads the league with 72 percent completion of 10 or more yards."
While Purdy continues to have his critics, some willing to stop covering the NFL should the 49ers win the Super Bowl with the 23-year-old, Bayless is a firm believer.
"When it's time to make a play, this kid just makes plays," Bayless added. "... Set the franchise record for percentage completion in a game (95.2 vs. Arizona). And there was a guy named Montana, and there was a guy named Steve Young, because that's just silly stats to me. What does he do wrong?"
"Brock Purdy scares me to death heading into Sunday because the harder I look, the better he looks. What does he ever do wrong?"
— @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/iB4B5tDuwv
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) October 5, 2023
