San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was named “Mr. Irrelevant” after the 49ers selected him with the final pick of the 2022 draft. He has taken quite the leap since then — Purdy is undefeated as a starter in nine regular-season games. San Francisco is off to a 4-0 start in 2023, and Purdy is six wins away from tying the record for most consecutive wins to start a career.
Purdy became the team’s starting quarterback after Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo were injured last season. He came off the bench in four games before making his first career start in Week 13 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Purdy then threw 11 touchdown passes and two interceptions in the last five regular-season games as the 49ers finished 13-4.
Purdy’s only loss as an NFL starting quarterback was in last season’s NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles. During the game, he suffered an elbow injury that required offseason surgery.
The young QB was able to recover from the elbow injury in time to start the 2023 season for the 49ers. He has completed over 72% of his passes with five touchdowns and no interceptions while leading the offense to over 31 points per game.
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Who Owns the Longest Regular-Season Wins Record?
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger started his career with 15 straight wins in the regular season. Roethlisberger, like Purdy, suffered his first career loss as a starter in the AFC Championship Game to end his rookie season. Both quarterbacks continued their regular-season winning streak in their second seasons.
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Roethlisberger replaced an injured Tommy Maddox in the middle of a Week 2 game in the 2004 season. The following week, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a 13-3 win against the Miami Dolphins in his first career start. He completed 67.4% of his passes with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions in his first 15 starts.
Big Ben’s first loss as a starter was to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game in 2004. His first loss in the regular season was also to the Patriots in Week 3 of the 2005 season.
Former Chicago Bears quarterback Mike Tomczak’s 10 straight regular-season wins were the NFL record dating back to the merger in 1970. Tomczak’s wins were spread out over the 1986 and 1987 seasons when he filled in for Jim McMahon. His streak of 10 wins was spread out over two seasons and 15 games played. Tomczak, who was a rookie in 1985, did not make a start until his second season in the league.
Purdy would need to defeat the Dallas Cowboys this week to tie Tomczak for the second-most consecutive wins to start a career. If Purdy stays healthy, he can tie the record in Week 11 against the Buccaneers and break it the following week against the Seattle Seahawks.