SAN FRANCISCO — Brock Purdy became the highest-rated passer in NFL history on Monday night, when the San Francisco 49ers beat the Washington Commanders 23-17 at Levi’s Stadium. Purdy finished 21 of 29 for 264 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. His career rating reached 105.6, ahead of Lamar Jackson’s 102.7. He qualified for the record by passing the 1,500-attempt threshold, which the league requires before a career rating counts.
Christian McCaffrey ran for two scores, and the 49ers made two late stops to hold the lead. The win was San Francisco’s sixth straight to open the season. Washington is 1-4-1.
The league’s passer rating runs from 0 to 158.3. That ceiling comes from capping four components, each at 2.375, adding them, dividing by six and multiplying by 100. A perfect game requires a 77.5 percent completion rate, a touchdown on 11.875 percent of passes, 12.5 yards per attempt and no interceptions. Purdy’s career figure is 52.7 points below the top of the scale.
“Nobody built the formula with a quarterback at this number in mind,” said Dr. Marjorie Teller, director of the Center for Measured Outcomes, who has reviewed the scale for the Center’s annual report on league statistics. “It was designed to be fair to everyone who threw the ball. It was not designed to be fair to the ceiling.”
Asked whether the league planned to change the scale, a spokesperson for its Office of Passer Rating Standards said Tuesday that Purdy’s rating had been confirmed at 105.6, and that the office had therefore concluded his rating was now above the 158.3 maximum. The office said the maximum would be reviewed at a later date.
Gary Tunstall, 61, of Lake Ternby, has watched every 49ers game since 1979 and says he understood the ruling immediately. “They said the number is too high, and they said it while the number was still under the number,” Tunstall said. “I’ve been a fan long enough to know when the paperwork is ahead of the football.”
Teller said the Center would publish a revised scale if the league asked for one. She declined to say what it would look like. “The current scale has a ceiling,” she said. “The proposed scale has a ceiling that is one point higher than whatever he has, and we are checking that it stays one point higher.”
The office has not said whether the ceiling will be reviewed before Purdy’s next start.