Brock Purdy’s 2025 season stood out for a simple reason: he almost never got sacked.
The San Francisco 49ers quarterback finished with the lowest total EPA lost to sacks among 40 qualifying passers, according to a Nutshell Sports chart built with nflfastR data. Purdy gave up just 21.49 points of expected points added on 11 sacks, both the lowest figures in the group. In a league where pressure can wreck drives in a hurry, that put him in a category all his own.
The gap between Purdy and the rest of the field was enormous. Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward led all quarterbacks in EPA lost to sacks at 120.34 on 55 sacks.
Then-Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith was right behind him at 101.71 on the same number of sacks. The next closest quarterback to Purdy was then-Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, who lost 22.84 EPA on 13 sacks - still more than five points behind Purdy’s total.
San Francisco had another quarterback near the bottom of the list, too. Mac Jones lost 30.09 EPA to sacks on 16 takedowns, which ranked third-lowest in the sample. Taken together, the 49ers’ quarterback room and offensive line were among the league’s best at avoiding the kind of pressure that turns into costly negative plays.
Purdy’s numbers are even more striking because he played only nine games and made nine starts in 2025. He completed 197 of 284 passes for a 69.4% completion rate, threw for 2,126 intended air yards and added 849 yards after the catch. His on-target rate was 82.2%, the best in the sample, underscoring how quickly and accurately he was getting the ball out.
For a 49ers offense that has dealt with injuries and shuffled personnel in recent years, that kind of efficiency matters. Purdy’s quick processing and clean pocket management helped San Francisco avoid sacks, preserve EPA and stay out of trouble. With Jones posting similarly low sack totals in relief, the 49ers finished 2025 with one of the least sack- and turnover-prone quarterback groups in the league, even with games missed.
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