Forget regression, it seems like 49ers' Brock Purdy is getting better - ESPN - San Francisco 49ers Blog- ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Late in the first quarter of Sunday's win against the Arizona Cardinals, the San Francisco 49ers faced a third-and-4 at Arizona's 39-yard line. Niners coach Kyle Shanahan called for a handoff to running back Christian McCaffrey, the type of call you make when you are already planning to go for it on fourth down.

After the Cardinals stopped McCaffrey for no gain, Shanahan wasted no time sending the fourth-down play to quarterback Brock Purdy. It was a pass, one Purdy squeezed into well-covered tight end George Kittle for a 9-yard gain and a first down on the way to San Francisco's second touchdown in its 35-16 victory.

More than those outcomes, the call was the latest example of Shanahan's implicit trust in Purdy, which the second-year quarterback has earned since taking over the starting job in Week 13 of last season.

«He's [been] extremely consistent in practice since he's been here and he's been the same in games,» Shanahan said. «What you guys see is what we see and it's what we feel.»

As the quarterback of the 49ers' juggernaut, Purdy is a constant target for critiques and nitpicking. The nonbelievers say he's simply a passenger on the Niners' freight train, surrounded by a frighteningly good collection of talent and taking directions from one of the league's sharpest offensive minds. Both of those things can be true while also acknowledging that Purdy is more than pulling his weight during the team's 4-0 start.

• Full schedule » | Standings »
• Depth charts for every team »
• Transactions » | Injuries »
• Football Power Index »
More NFL coverage »

While many have been waiting for Purdy's supposedly inevitable regression, he has, at least through four games, done the one thing that his detractors