Brock Purdy has been excellent since returning from injury

Brock Purdy walks to the line of scrimmage now with the quiet authority of a quarterback who understands that every drive can tilt a season. The former last pick in the draft has turned that label into a punchline, reshaping the San Francisco 49ers offense into a machine that expects the end zone, not just hopes for it. Since returning from injury, his command has matched his numbers, and together they have pushed the 49ers into a new tier of belief.

The scoreboard tells part of the story. In his six games back, San Francisco has gone 6-0, averaging 35.7 points per game, the most in the league over that span. Every possession feels like an opportunity because the offense has produced 3.39 points per drive, again the best mark in the NFL during this run. Third and long is no longer a moment for groans in the stadium but a test Purdy keeps passing, with the 49ers converting 59 percent of their third downs, first in the league over those same six games.

What stands out is not just production but poise. Purdy works the middle of the field with anticipation, trusts his timing on outbreaking routes, and rarely looks rattled when the pocket compresses. The ball comes out on time, to the right spot, over and over, and that rhythm has unlocked the whole playbook. Defensive coordinators are forced to pick their poison, and Purdy calmly delivers to the open man as if he were running a script only he has seen.

In meeting rooms and film sessions across the league, the conversation has shifted. This is no longer a fun story about a seventh-rounder thriving in a friendly system. This is a quarterback who has elevated an already talented roster, a player whose efficiency on third down and in the red zone has turned close games into comfortable wins. The locker room feels it, the fan base feels it, and every Sunday, the rest of the NFL is reminded that the 49ers’ Super Bowl ambitions now run directly through number thirteen.

Mr. Irrelevant was supposed to be a footnote. Instead, Brock Purdy has become the sentence that ends with the word champion, and the 49ers are playing like a team convinced that ending might arrive sooner rather than later.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Niners Brock Purdy has been excellent since returning from injury