Football loves an adage, an axiom, a sacred cow it can chew on talk radio until everyone’s teeth hurt.

And two of the sport’s favorites make zero sense when you shove them into the same room.

We’re told that football is the ultimate team game. Twenty-two starters, plus specialists, all must be locked in precise sync — where a single blown assignment could bring the whole house down.

Then, five minutes later, we’re told that quarterback is the most important position in American sports. If you don’t have one, it doesn’t matter how good your 21 other starters are (see: Browns, Cleveland). If you do, he can drag an otherwise flawed roster into January almost single-handedly (see: Bills, Buffalo).

So which is it?

In a weird, twisted way, we’re about to find out in Santa Clara, with a quick trip to Australia sprinkled in.

Brock Purdy is entering his fifth NFL season, and he’s done almost nothing but win.

His reputation inside NFL buildings is virtually spotless. Other teams know he’s the truth.

And he has performed in training camp like a player ready to take the leap from unquestionably good to great.

Over his career, Purdy’s 8.6 yards per pass attempt lead all active NFL passers with at least 1,000 attempts. His career passer rating of 104.0 sits near the top of league history, flanked by top-shelf marks in expected points added per dropback.

If almost any other quarterback put up these numbers through four years, the MVP hype machine would be melting those offshore servers.

Instead, Purdy still carries the scarlet letter of his draft slot. He was picked dead last in 2022. He honestly would’ve been better off going undrafted like Kurt Warner, because Mr. Irrelevant became a permanent brand anchor.

The narrative insisted someone picked 262nd couldn’t possibly be good, much less a cream-of-the-crop player.

Especially someone who looks like your unassuming brother-in-law who lives in Omaha — a guy who wears a polo shirt tucked into khakis to go to work.

Yet the tape and the math keep laughing at the skeptics.

There’s nothing bland about Purdy’s game.

And the truth is that in this 49ers’ offense, he isn’t a passenger. He’s the engine.

Don’t let Mac Jones’ nice stint as the Niners’ starting quarterback last year fool you. Jones played well, but the Niners needed Purdy to do anything worth remembering last season.

The same will be true this season.

The good news: The 2026 49ers boast the high-end talent to hoist a Lombardi Trophy if health cooperates. The problem is what happens if it doesn’t. The roster’s middle class has hollowed out, leaving the floor dangerously fragile.

When a team’s depth thins, that’s precisely when a real franchise quarterback earns his paycheck. But outside of Northern California, does anyone view Purdy through that lens?

They should.

And I think they’re about to, whether they like it or not.

Look at how 2025 ended. With the 49ers’ defense banged up and exhausted and their coordinator checked out, with the team’s offensive line wobbling, with Christian McCaffrey worn down by heavy volume and a receiving corps unable to buy a yard of separation, Purdy dragged the Niners into the postseason anyway. He had monster games against the Titans, Colts and Bears to give the Niners a spot at the No. 1 seed in Week 18.

Then he marched into Philadelphia and snatched a playoff road win in a game where his three leading receivers were DeMarcus Robinson (276 total yards in the regular season, 111 in the playoff win), McCaffrey, and fullback Kyle Jusczeyk.

No, he couldn’t solve a historically fierce Seattle defense, but if he had, this column wouldn’t need to be written.

Now the 2026 offense is set up to be even sharper, and it’ll have to be, against a brutal schedule.

Up front, a healthy Dominick Puni at right guard next to Colton McKivitz, who quietly remains one of the league’s most reliable right tackles. Trent Williams remains Trent Williams on the blind side, even if questions linger at center and left guard.

Out wide, Mike Evans arrives to supply the true physical “X” receiver Kyle Shanahan hasn’t possessed since Brandon Aiyuk’s peak 2023 campaign.

McCaffrey will get his touches, but viable depth in Jordan James and Kaelon Black means he won’t have to carry the rock until his wheels fall off. (Or, more likely, that there are viable alternatives when they do.)

George Kittle made a nearly miraculous recovery from January’s torn Achilles and looks poised to play. We’ll see if he is himself. Either way, Jake Tonges has flashed as a dependable second tight end, taking the heat off Luke Farrell, who might actually provide positive play this season as a No. 3 option.

Deebo Samuel slides back into his gadget-chaos sweet spot. Rookie De’Zhaun Stribling looks like an immediate weapon.

There’s a lot to like — at the start. But we all know that teams look totally different at the starting line than at the finish line.

Still, the runway is clear for this unit to lead the league in scoring.

But it only happens if Purdy takes another step forward: pulling the ball to run when lanes open, hunting chunk shots downfield and continuing to stack wins, no matter the circumstances.

Purdy has the shoulders to carry this team. The Niners hope they don’t need him to, but probably will.

And when he does, and this team succeeds accordingly, it’s going to be a very confusing time for a lot of folks.

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