Brock Purdy was excellent in Week 3, producing a history-making display despite being down several of his top playmakers.
Sadly, his display will likely be lost in the wreckage of the San Francisco 49ers’ epic fourth-quarter meltdown in their shock 27-24 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams.
Purdy was without Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle because of injuries, yet he still authored an excellent display, leaning on his tremendous rapport with Jauan Jennings, who had 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns on a career day that was ultimately wasted.
The 49ers quarterback finished 22 of 30 for 292 yards and three touchdowns, ending with a quarterback rating of 137.1.
It marked the ninth game of Purdy’s career in which he has posted a rating of 130.0 or higher. In doing so, he surpassed Lamar Jackson (eight) for the most such games by a quarterback in their first three seasons.
Purdy also tied Kurt Warner for the second-most games with a quarterback rating of at least 100 in their first 25 starts, registering his 16th such game.
Unfortunately, those achievements will mean nothing to Purdy after a dreadful defensive letdown, some awful special teams failings, and a critical drop from Ronnie Bell doomed the 49ers, who twice led by 14 and led by 10 in the fourth quarter, to their second loss of the season.
Three times in #49ers history has a QB completed 70+% of his passes and thrown 3 touchdowns in a loss:
– Joe Montana in 1985 against the Rams
– Steve Young in 1992 against the Bills
– Brock Purdy today— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) September 23, 2024
Per Nick Wagoner of ESPN, Purdy’s performance was the third in franchise history in which a quarterback completed over 70 percent of their passes and threw three touchdowns but lost the game. The only other players to achieve that unwanted feat, Joe Montana in a 1985 loss to the Rams and Steve Young in a 1992 defeat to the Buffalo Bills.
It is a select group that Purdy had no desire to join. Unless the 49ers fix some crippling issues in other areas of the game, more strong Purdy displays will go to waste.