Pleasant surprises of the NFL season so far: Brock Purdy for MVP and actual Raiders competence

It's early to state which surprises will be the most fun to recall this time around, but here are four to watch as things progress.

Under an obscure Santa Clara bylaw, we are legally obliged to point out that Purdy has outplayed his status as the last pick in the 2022 draft. But last season, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback was caught up in his team's horrible injury luck ( which continues unabated ), missing eight games. Purdy still played well when healthy, but nobody was quite prepared for how good he has been in 2026.

The 49ers are 3-0 despite all the injury hits, and Purdy is the primary reason. He has completed 60 of 83 passes (72.3%) for 789 yards (9.5 yards per attempt), nine touchdowns, one interception, no sacks, and a passer rating of 133.1, which leads the league quite comfortably (in second place is Drew Lock , more on which later).