Nobody would claim that Brock Purdy is a superior quarterback to Patrick Mahomes.
However, as the San Francisco 49ers prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch that will stir up a lot of painful memories from February's overtime loss in Las Vegas, it is Purdy who stands atop the pile as the premier quarterback in the NFL, at least by one measure.
Following a three-touchdown performance in the 49ers' Week 6 win over the Seattle Seahawks , Purdy has the highest Pro Football Focus grade of all quarterbacks in the NFL.
The subjectivity of PFF grades has led them to be routinely questioned, and neither Purdy nor Mahomes will give any thought to outside opinions of them heading into this marquee matchup.
Still, Purdy's position atop the PFF rankings is reflective of a superb start to the season in which his play has largely belied the 49ers' 3-3 record. Purdy has continued to help the 49ers' offense move the ball extremely efficiently, but the means by which he has done so have changed dramatically.
Rather than being heavily reliant on yardage after the catch from his cavalcade of pass-catchers who are playmakers in the open field, Purdy has thrived pushing the ball downfield consistently and into tight windows while making increasingly frequent plays with his legs as a scrambler.
Mahomes and the Chiefs, by contrast, have leaned on the short passing game and yards after the catch in 2024, Kansas City enduring some struggles in producing explosive pass plays amid injuries that have left the offense shorthanded at wide receiver.
These are two quarterbacks on two surprisingly divergent paths in terms of style this season and, as the 49ers look to finally get the monkey off their back after losing two Super Bowls to the Chiefs in the last five seasons, the offensive emphasis will be on finding ways to ensure their pass game remains explosive against an excellent defense that regularly frustrated them in Super Bowl 58. On defense, it will be on taking away the easy buttons for Mahomes that arguably became all too prevalent during the Super Bowl's thrilling conclusion.
There won't be any talk about a PFF grade. However, after performing admirably in going toe to toe with Mahomes in Super Bowl, Purdy's standing as the best in the league by that measure and his ability to validate it by winning the rematch serves an intriguing additional narrative in a mouthwatering game.
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