Brock Purdy’s numbers against the Seahawks expose a recurring problem

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Through the first four games of the 2026 NFL season, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy acquitted himself at a Most Valuable Player level, completing 79 of 113 passes for 1,007 yards, 11 touchdowns, one interception, a passer rating of 126.2, and a league-best EPA per pass of +0.51.

This seemed to be the year in which everything came together for Purdy, when his athletic gifts matched his pre- and post-snap acumen (among the NFL's most impressive), and there was nothing that could stop him. Despite a truly (and typically) epic number of injuries, the 49ers were 4-0 in that stretch, and Purdy was the primary reason.

Then, Purdy traveled the approximately 840 miles from Santa Clara to Seattle, and things went downhill in a big hurry. Which was about as predictable as anything could be.

Because as much as Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 draft has exceeded expectations against most of his NFL opponents, there is something about the Seahawks that gets quite a distance up Purdy's nose, and will drive him up the wall more often than not.

NFL Stat of the Week: Brock Purdy’s efficiency drops against Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks

• The stat: Since 2024, including the playoffs, Purdy’s EPA per pass is -0.10 against Seattle, compared with +0.20 against all other opponents.

Yes, the 49ers won Sunday's game, 32-29, but Purdy completed 19 of 29 passes for 189 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, a passer rating of 92.5, and an EPA per pass of -0.15.

Since Mike Macdonald became the Seahawks' head coach and defensive play-caller before the 2024 season, this has been the way it's been for Purdy whenever he's faced his NFC West opponent. Per Sumer Sports, the splits since 2024, including the playoffs, are stark.

*Includes playoffs. Source: Sumer Sports.

“They fly around, for one," Purdy said last Thursday when asked why Seattle's current defense is such a problem for him. "Their scheme is really good, too. They’re all really well-coached with their great defensive line, their secondary, everybody’s tied in together. Obviously you don’t ever see really big explosive plays on them. It feels like it’s a bend-but-don’t-break kind of defense and you’ve got to go earn every yard all throughout the game for four quarters.

"I think they’ve played with each other now for a good amount of time, so they understand what each guy does really well. They play 11 as one for sure, so [a] really good defense, and we respect the heck out of them.”

Purdy had the NFL's longest current streak of sackless snaps, as he had not been sacked at all in the first four games of the season. But that all changed with 1:29 left in the first quarter, when Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II took him down. Murphy was able to repeat that feat with 10:09 left in the first half, and with 37 seconds left in the first half, linebacker Ernest Jones was able to complete the sack trifecta.

Purdy also had more than one near-interception in the first half alone — passes in the vicinities of Jones and safety Julian Love were very nearly picked off. Karma caught up with Purdy with 7:24 left in the third quarter, when cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett read Purdy's sideline pass to receiver Jacob Cowing all the way.

However, there is a potential bright spot in all this malaise — what Purdy was able to accomplish in the fourth quarter. Then, he completed seven of eight passes for 76 yards, a touchdown pass to receiver Brandin Cooks, no interceptions, no sacks, a passer rating of 145.8, and an EPA per pass of +0.80. His rhythm with receiver Mike Evans was particularly dynamic.

"The way those guys played in the fourth quarter, you could really feel it the way Brock started ripping the ball and just being more aggressive in the fourth," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said postgame about Purdy, receiver Mike Evans, and the game's final 15 minutes overall. "I thought they both kind of took it over and really won that game there at the end for us.”

Could that fourth quarter be Purdy's first step out of his Mike Macdonald curse? We'll find out on Sunday, November 29, when these two NFC West stalwarts meet up once again — this time, in Purdy's home, Levi's Stadium, back in Santa Clara.

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