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Brock Purdy quieted the doubters once again during week 11 as he led the San Francisco 49ers to a victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- and he did it in perfect fashion.
Purdy on Sunday became the 66th quarterback in NFL history (and the second in 2023) to record a 158.3 er rating in a game -- a perfect rating, according to the league's metric. He became the first 49ers signal-caller in more than 30 years to finish a game with a perfect er rating as he led San Francisco to a 27-14 home win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 7-3 49ers now stand alone atop the NFC West and can strengthen their grip on the division with a win over the Seattle Seahawks in week 12.
A stronger link to Joe Montana
Before Purdy's exploits on Sunday, a guy named Joe Montana was the last 49ers quarterback to ring up a perfect er rating -- which he accomplished in a win over the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 12, 1989.
Purdy's poise and skillset have previously been compared to Montana, an NFL legend who won the Super Bowl four times with San Francisco. Purdy will hope to match that legacy someday, but for now, he'll settle for the dominating day he had against an otherwise-solid Buccaneers defense. In order, Purdy tossed touchdown es to Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle as San Francisco averaged seven yards per play and did not turn the ball over.
Purdy's struggles in the rearview
It looks as if the 49ers' bye week was all they needed to get back on track. San Francisco has won back-to-back games since a rare three-game losing skid -- during which Purdy threw three touchdowns to five interceptions.
But Purdy's efficiency since the bye has been key to the 49ers restoring their lead atop the NFC West. In dominating victories over Jacksonville and Tampa Bay, Purdy has completed a combined 40 es from 51 attempts for 629 yards, with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 6-0. The 49ers won those two games by an aggregate 61-17 score.