On Christmas morning, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was the overwhelming favorite to win the NFL MVP award. Before the evening ended, the former 7th round draft pick was pushed so far down the board that he is now considered a long shot to win the award with the 5th-shortest odds. And that is what can happen when you have a historically bad game that puts you in the company of some of the most mocked QBs in recent memory.
Brock Purdy Makes NFL History With Tough Performance
Quarterbacks to have a start with 4 INT, 0 Pass TD and less than 20 completions over the last 5 NFL seasons:
Sam Darnold
Jake Luton
Sam Howell
Davis Mills
Zach Wilson
Brock Purdy(h/t @NFLonCBS) https://t.co/bFbJSKWKDv pic.twitter.com/ZGhJtC4pXe
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 26, 2023
Purdy began the season with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions through the first five games. He experienced some accuracy issues during the team’s 3-game losing streak in October, but seemed to have right the ship lately, having thrown just two picks during the 6-game win streak by the 49ers.
It all came unraveled during the first three quarters on Christmas night. It can be argued about just how many of them were actually his fault, but Purdy was forced into four interceptions by the Ravens’ defense, which continuously gave Baltimore short fields and easy points. When the quarterback experienced a “stinger” for the second straight week, he was replaced by Sam Darnold. When Purdy was medically cleared to re-enter the game, San Francisco’s coaching staff kept him on the sidelines.
Ravens Stifled The MVP Leader
Lamar Jackson SNATCHED the MVP Award tonight.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) December 26, 2023
It is likely because the game was relatively out of hand and the team didn’t want to further expose their starter to injury, but optics can say that Purdy was essentially benched during the game against the Ravens.
With his lackluster performance, he joins a sad list of NFL quarterbacks who have experienced similar outcomes to games, and one of his teammates is a part of the group.
Over the last five seasons, there have been five instances in which an NFL starting QB has a game with 0 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and fewer than 20 completions. In addition to Darnold, the other names on the list include Luke Luton, Sam Howell, Davis Mills, and Zach Wilson. After being compared to some of the game’s best over the past few weeks, it may come as something of a shock to see Purdy’s name with the rest of some of the down-trodden pass throwers of the last 5 years.
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