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The San Francisco 49ers stayed undefeated in Week 5, whooping the Dallas Cowboys 42-10. After the game, where quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey dismantled the vaunted Cowboys defense, 49ers defender Tashaun Gipson says both should be legit NFL MVP candidates.
“Brock Purdy is playing at an MVP level,” ESPN’s Nick Wagoner quoted 49ers safety Tashaun Gipson as saying after the Sunday Night game. “He's protecting the ball and he's making plays. He's not just a game manager. He's ballin'. I just don't think he gets enough credit when you talk about the MVPs and things like that, he's doing this week in and week out at a high level. … We have two MVP-caliber players on offense, so that's always a good thing when you've got that type of problem.”
Gipson is absolutely right. Both 49ers stars, Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey, are right toward the top of NFL MVP shortlists after Week 5 against the Cowboys.
Brock Purdy of Christian McCaffrey for MVP?
In that game, Purdy was 17-of-24 for 252 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. McCaffrey had 51 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown and a fumble, as well as 27 receiving yards on two catches in a short night thanks to the lopsided score.
On the year, that brings Purdy to 1,271 passing yards with a 72.1 percent completion rate and nine touchdowns without a single interception. As for McCaffrey, the RB leads the league in carries (99), rushing yards (510), rushing touchdowns (seven), total touches (119), total yards from scrimmage (678), and total touchdowns (eight).
Ultimately, Purdy will have to lead the 49ers to an undefeated or near-undefeated season to win the MVP, as his numbers won’t end up as gaudy as some other NFL signal-callers. As for McCaffrey, he’ll have to keep up his torrid pace and league-leading stats, because a running back hasn’t won the MVP award in over a decade. Adrian Peterson was the last RB to do it in 2012.
