The San Francisco 49ers are just about a quarter of the way into the season, and they’re undefeated so far, starting off 4-0 with wins over the Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, and Denver Broncos.
Through four games, the 49ers have been exceptional offensively, ranking first by a wide margin in EPA/play, while coming together strongly defensively, all while dealing with a large number of injuries.
Still, they’ve beaten two contenders, while establishing themselves as a real threat
in the NFL behind MVP-level play from Brock Purdy.
So, through four weeks, let’s look at five quarter-season takeaways for the 49ers.
Brock Purdy excelling in several key categories
The Brock Purdy train has taken off, as the quarterback is currently the odds-on favorite to win MVP, being No. 1 on NFL.com’s MVP Ladder through four weeks.
He’s played extremely well thus far, including in a performance against the Denver Broncos where he still played quite well despite it being his “worst” game of the season. Purdy kept the ball out of harms way, took what the defense gave him, and still threw for 218 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Through four weeks, Purdy is the clear leader in EPA per play and success rate at quarterback. He’s No. 1 in QBR. And he is also leveling up in key moments. Breaking it down by quarter, Purdy is the NFL’s top quarterback in EPA per play in both the third and fourth quarter, while ranking third in the NFL in the first quarter.
Purdy is also pushing the ball downfield, ranking first in yards per attempt, while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes and ranking fourth in completion rate over expected.
One category really caught my eye, though: Purdy’s excellence against the blitz.
Thus far, when blitzed, Purdy has completed 27 of 35 passes for 427 yards and seven touchdowns when blitzed, while not being sacked once on 11 pressures. He’s been the NFL’s best quarterback against the blitz, and has seen the field very well, not making any turnover-worthy plays, which have been the issue in years past.
In 2025, Purdy’s completion rate dropped to 62.6 percent, and he had six of his 13 interceptions when blitzed, despite being blitzed on just 26.6 percent of his dropbacks. This year, he’s being blitzed at a 31.5 percent rate, and playing even better.
The story is simple: Purdy is making the plays, while not taking any negative plays, regardless of situation.
The 49ers run game has a foundation
The Niners run game was an issue in 2025. They ranked 29th in EPA per rush and 24th in rushing success rate, as the explosives just weren’t there on the ground.
This season, the 49ers are 10th in EPA per rush and eighth in rushing success rate. Thus far, the 49ers are averaging 4.8 yards per carry, seventh in the league, while getting to 137.3 rushing yards per game, a top-six mark in the NFL.
That’s happened while Christian McCaffrey has averaged just 4.4 yards per carry and Kaelon Black has averaged 3.9 yards per carry, thanks to the wrinkles in the run game with Deebo Samuel and Brock Purdy’s ability to extend plays with his legs.
More importantly, the 49ers run game seems to have built a foundation again.
San Francisco’s offensive line has done a really good job over four weeks of keeping Brock Purdy up and limiting the pressure from opposing defenses. But they’ve also paved the way in the run game. San Francisco ranks fifth in yards before contact per rush (1.93 yards), and they’re also not getting negative plays in the run game, which was an issue last year.
Instead, the 49ers also rank sixth in percentage of runs with zero or negative yards before contact at 37.2 percent. So, they’re avoiding negative plays and averaging nearly five yards per tote.
The explosives still need to come. Christian McCaffrey and Kaelon Black also rank 24th and 45th, respectively, in yards after contact. But the 49ers are doing better on the ground and have a foundation there this year.
Limiting explosive plays
The 49ers have been the best team in the NFL at limiting explosive plays this season. In fact, their 3.5 percent explosive play rate allowed is the best of any team through four games since 2000. And that’s with a banged-up defensive line.
Raheem Morris has been exactly what the 49ers needed, and I’m slowly starting to compare him to DeMeco Ryans back during that monster 2022 defensive campaign. The 49ers are the No. 5 team defensively in DVOA, which, matched with the No. 1 rank on offense, has created a clear-cut contender.
Now, the 49ers are 26th in pressure rate, but a part of that is attributed to teams looking to get the ball out quickly. Subsequently, they’re sixth in ESPN’s pass rush win rate, and it helps to limit explosive plays when linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw fly to the ball.
I’ve been impressed with how Morris has created pressure with his personnel up front on the defensive line, but also with how the 49ers have played coverage through four weeks. After struggling last season at times, the 49ers secondary has looked the part in a big way so far.
That includes growth from safeties Marques Sigle and Malik Mustapha, as well as from Renardo Green and the newcomer Jack Jones, who have all played roles in the secondary so far.
Overall, you’re starting to see a defense gel in a new scheme, and this unit should only get better with healthy players. It’s been a very promising start to the 49ers season.
