49ers’ Brock Purdy set to be top rated quarterback
Monday Night Football
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Brock Purdy has been one of the league's most efficient quarterbacks in the NFL since stepping into the role for the San Francisco 49ers as a seventh-round rookie in 2022.
With five more pass attempts, he will take his place on top of the all-time leaderboards.
Purdy comes into this week with a 105.4 passer rating over his first 1,495 career attempts in the regular season and will qualify for the NFL's all-time leaderboards when he hits the 1,500 attempt threshold.
Two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is the current leader at 102.7 with Purdy set to take over the No. 1 spot when the 49ers (5-0) take on the Washington Commanders (1-3-1) at home tonight.
Don't expect Purdy to celebrate the milestone or make a point to check out the leaderboard when the game ends.
"I guess it's a good thing," Purdy said. "But at the same time, I'm not getting done with games going, 'All right, was my rating at least 100 and something?' I could really care less about that. It's more so, did I do my job well for my teammates? Did I compete and do everything I could to help this team win? I know it sounds cheesy, but that's the reality. That's what I'm thinking about and it's what matters. I guess that maybe reflects, though, playing pretty good quarterback play, so I'm not trying to act like it's nothing. But, it is cool."
Purdy said much of the credit also goes to his coaches and teammates, who have helped him be so productive ever since being taken with the last pick of the 2022 draft.
The passer rating stat was created in the 1970s to create a single number to grade quarterbacks from different eras. The rating uses four statistics -- completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown passes and interceptions -- to give a number on a scale of 0 to 158.3.
The rating favors more modern quarterbacks as the current style of play has led to a higher completion percentage and far fewer interceptions than when the stat was created.
Only one of the top 25 current players on the leaderboard -- Hall of Famer Steve Young -- began his career more than 30 years ago, with players such as Jimmy Garoppolo and Tua Tagovailoa ranking ahead of all-time greats such as Joe Montana and Dan Marino.
Coach Kyle Shanahan praised Purdy for his willingness to do things that help the team but harm his rating.