This article was first published by Audacy, written by Ryan Gilbert, and syndicated with permission.
Brock Purdy introduced himself to the NFL late last season, and the San Francisco 49ers quarterback is breaking out in a big way this year. He has the Niners at 9-3 through 12 games after an impressive win over the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Purdy racked up 314 yards and four touchdowns on Sunday in the 42-19 blowout win against the reigning NFC Champions. He's rocketed up the NFL MVP chart and is currently among the favorites for the award.
Legendary NFL writer Peter King explained what makes Purdy so special while appearing on the Audacy podcast "49ers Webzone: No Huddle" this week.
"I think the laughable thing about Brock Purdy is I think everybody believes that Brock Purdy is a system quarterback, just plug him in, anybody can do this in Kyle Shanahan's offense," King said (9:40 in player above). "Well, how did C.J. Beathard do? How did Nick Mullens do? They had moments, they had moments. How did Brian Hoyer do? How did Garoppolo do?
"Now, Garoppolo had some very good moments, and I'm not dogging in any way Garoppolo, but there's no comparison between the performance of Garoppolo over a long period of time and the 21-game performance of Brock Purdy so far."
As of right now, #49ers QB Brock Purdy would get Peter King's MVP vote.
"Brock Purdy is a legitimate MVP candidate."@peter_king | @AudacySports | @AlSacco49 | @brenick77 | #FTTB
LISTEN to the whole show and SUBSCRIBE: https://t.co/P4XtOqgLKW pic.twitter.com/vFrO6whsei
— 49ers Webzone (@49erswebzone) December 5, 2023
Purdy is 14-3 as a starter in his career. He has thrown for over 4,500 yards with 36 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Sure, he has weapons around him, but he's elevating the team as well.
"Brock Purdy is a legitimate MVP candidate," King, one of the 50 voters for the MVP award, said. "I wrote in my column this week that, as of now, which means nothing because there are five games left, you don't know what's going to happen, but as of now, he would be number one on my ballot."
While Purdy is top of mind right now after a big win in Philadelphia, the 49ers' three-game losing streak will have an impact on voters.
"Having said that, I am going to have to think very seriously about it for this big reason. When Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel were down, Brock Purdy played three games without them – when one or both was out – and he lost all three," King continued. "He threw a terrible interception at Minnesota that probably cost them the game. And they only scored 17 points in each game.
"So that's a mark against Brock Purdy for MVP. Shouldn't an MVP lift a diminished team? And the answer is yes. So I don't know how I'll vote on January 6th or 7th, whatever it is, but as of now, in total, he'd be my number one guy. The biggest reason, I think, is putting up 42 on each of the best two teams in the NFC aside from the 49ers."
The 49ers return home this week to take on the Seahawks at Levi's Stadium.
