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NFL Week in Review: Purdy’s Record Month and Smith-Njigba’s Historic Start Set Up 49ers-Seahawks Showdown

Writer: Jim Henson
Jim Henson
15 hours ago
5 min read

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The West Coast’s fiercest NFL rivalry is about to heat up. San Francisco is 4-0 behind the best month of Brock Purdy’s career, while defending Super Bowl champion Seattle has watched Jaxon Smith-Njigba put together one of the hottest starts in league history. They meet Sunday at Lumen Field. Here’s what the NFL’s official releases said this week: 49ers and Seahawks first, then a former Oregon Duck’s big September, then the rest of the league.

Lumen Field in Seattle, where the Seahawks host the 49ers on Sunday. Photo: PCN02WPS / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

San Francisco 49ers

  • Purdy is the NFC Offensive Player of the Month. Across Weeks 1-3 he completed 60 of 83 passes (72.3 percent) for 789 yards with 10 total touchdowns (nine passing, one rushing) and one interception. He led the NFL with a 133.1 passer rating and was tied for first with nine touchdown passes.

  • Rare company. It is Purdy’s first Player of the Month award. He joins Pro Football Hall of Famers Steve Young and Joe Montana, plus Jeff Garcia, as the only 49ers quarterbacks to win it, and his 14 career games with a 130-plus rating are the most by a quarterback under 27.

  • A first in NFL history. In Week 2, Purdy went 20 of 22 (90.9 percent) for 287 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score. No player had ever combined all four marks in one game.

  • Team trends. Entering Week 4, San Francisco led the league in point differential (+48), ranked second in scoring (32.7 points per game) and was the fourth team since 1990 to allow zero sacks in each of its first three games. The 49ers then hosted Denver on Sunday and joined Kansas City and Minnesota at 4-0.

  • Old friend, new honor. Former 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga, who spent his first four seasons in San Francisco, was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week with Denver. In one quarter he had a sack and two interceptions, returning one 66 yards for a touchdown, a combination no player had managed since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.

Seattle Seahawks

  • Smith-Njigba is rewriting the record book. He had 10 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns in Week 3 at Washington. That made him just the fourth player in the Super Bowl era with six touchdown catches in his team’s first three games, joining Calvin Johnson, Marvin Harrison and former Seahawk Daryl Turner (1985).

  • Rice and Harrison territory. He is the second player ever with at least 120 receiving yards and a touchdown in each of his team’s first three games (Jerry Rice, 1989), and the second with 25 catches, 400 yards and six touchdowns over that span (Harrison, 1999). He entered Week 4 leading the NFL in both categories, with 405 yards and six touchdowns.

  • A tough loss in Washington. The Commanders beat Seattle 33-31 in Week 3. The league noted they were the first 0-2 team since 1980 to beat the defending Super Bowl champion in Week 3. Washington rookie linebacker Sonny Styles was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his play in that game.

  • Pass-rush note. Leonard Williams was one of three players with a sack in each of the first three weeks.

Week 5: 49ers at Seahawks

Sunday, Oct. 11, 1:25 p.m. PT on FOX. Elsewhere in Week 5, Buffalo visits the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night (5:15 p.m. PT, ESPN/ABC), and the league moved Chicago at Green Bay to 10 a.m. PT on FOX. Heading to the game? A padded seat like the BRAWNTIDE Stadium Seat makes a long afternoon in the stands easier on your back.

Northwest Angle: An Oregon Duck Takes Over September

New York Giants safety Jevón Holland is the NFC Defensive Player of the Month. He had 12 tackles, four passes defensed, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, and he is the only player this season with an interception in each of his team’s games. He is just the second former Oregon player to win Defensive Player of the Month, after DeForest Buckner in December 2020.

Around the League

  • Other monthly winners: Kansas City’s Kenneth Walker, Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau and Cincinnati’s Evan McPherson took the AFC honors, and Minnesota’s Myles Price won the NFC special teams award. Chiefs tackle Kahlil Benson, an undrafted free agent, and Titans linebacker Anthony Hill, who led the NFL with 34 tackles, are the Rookies of the Month.

  • Going global: Baltimore’s Tyler Loop kicked a 56-yarder as time expired to beat Dallas 34-31 in the first regular-season game ever played in Rio de Janeiro. Week 4 then opened a three-game London series, with Indianapolis beating Washington 30-13 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

  • New coaches winning early: Six first-year head coaches, including Buffalo’s Joe Brady and the Giants’ John Harbaugh, won at least two of their first three games, only the third time that has happened.

  • Crucial Catch passes 1 million screenings: The NFL says the campaign with the American Cancer Society has supported more than 1.1 million screenings in under-resourced communities, and it is on the field during Weeks 4-6. “We know early detection can make a meaningful difference, but too many people still face barriers to care,” said Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice president of social responsibility. Seattle’s Smith-Njigba is among the campaign’s player ambassadors, and screening resources are at NFL.com/CrucialCatch.

Game-Day Gear

Product details come from the manufacturers’ Amazon listings as of October 2026. Prices and availability change, so check the listing before you buy.

Sources: NFL Communications press releases: “Seven From Sunday – Week 3” (Sept. 27); “Week 5 Schedule Change: Bears-Packers to 1 p.m. ET” and “Week 4 NFL Preview & Capsules” (Sept. 29); “Bijan Robinson, Sonny Styles & Myles Price Named Week 3 NFC Players of the Week,” “Brock Bowers, Talanoa Hufanga & Tyler Loop Named Week 3 AFC Players of the Week” and “What to Look For – Week 4” (Sept. 30); “Brock Purdy, Jevón Holland & Myles Price Named September NFC Players of the Month,” “Kenneth Walker, Greg Rousseau & Evan McPherson Named September AFC Players of the Month,” “Kahlil Benson & Anthony Hill Named September Rookies of the Month” and “NFL’s Crucial Catch Surpasses 1 Million Cancer Screenings, Continues Efforts to Expand Access to Early Detection Resources” (Oct. 1); and “Seven from Sunday – Week 4” (Oct. 4). Kickoff times converted to Pacific.

Photo: Lumen Field in Seattle, July 2023, by PCN02WPS via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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