With all due respect to Josh Allen, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has been the NFL’s Most Valuable Player over the first three weeks.

Get the first-three-weeks MVP trophy made and send it to Santa Clara, Calif.

I joke, but if Purdy wants to hoist the real hardware in February, he must first survive the next two weeks.

To this point, Purdy has made it look easy. It has been. The Rams didn’t show up in Australia, the Dolphins might not win a game all year, and the Cardinals couldn’t get out of their own way.

Sure, all three teams presented challenges to Purdy and the 49ers’ offense, but none compare to what is coming down the pike over the next two weeks: first the Denver Broncos, then the imposing Seattle Seahawks defense.

During this stretch, Purdy’s glittering MVP candidacy won’t remain a fun, carefree debate topic. Uneasy lies the head that wears the first-three-weeks crown; the next two games will either validate Purdy as the clubhouse leader for MVP or watch his candidacy go up in smoke.

The bad news going into these two games? The 49ers need him playing at his absolute best to win. It’s MVP-level or nothing.

San Francisco doesn’t have an injury report right now; it has a casualty manifest. Mike Evans is nursing a rib injury, and even if he laces up against Denver, he’s unlikely to be at full strength. Trent Williams is dealing with a neck stinger that should terrify anyone who appreciates functional pass protection.

On defense, listing who isn’t injured might be faster. Raheem Morris is doing an admirable job holding that unit together with baling wire and duct tape. It’s an aggressive, prideful group, but it won’t carry this team. It won’t hoist 53 men onto its back and grind out 13-10 rock fights.

If the 49ers win games right now, it’s because No. 13 plays like a pigskin deity.

That won’t come easily Sunday against the Broncos. Denver doesn’t run gimmicks or drop into soft, passive zones that allow Kyle Shanahan’s route concepts to operate in pristine geometry. Instead, the Broncos play sticky, physical, press-man coverage on the perimeter behind standout cornerbacks Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss. They want to crowd an extra safety into the box, dare receivers to separate on the outside, and force quick, dangerous throws against a relentless pass rush arriving from every angle.

The 49ers spent years rebuilding their roster to attack defenses like this, with Purdy leading the charge. Yet with injuries piling up at receiver, San Francisco likely lacks the personnel to consistently beat man coverage.

Deebo Samuel remains a world-class wrecking ball against zone, but he rarely separates against press-man. He hasn’t done so throughout his career, and he isn’t suddenly discovering sudden twitch at this stage of his football journey. Jordan Watkins gets bumped off his routes as if navigating a car wash. Jacob Cowing boasts elite speed, but he has repeatedly shown an aversion to physical play.

Without Evans — a proven answer against every coverage scheme — Purdy must lean on George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey and fullback Kyle Juszczyk. That trio is far better than most, but a quarterback still needs more downfield options against elite secondaries.

It’s easy to look like Joe Montana when carving up a shell-shocked Rams squad or picking apart Arizona’s rebuilt secondary.

But true franchise quarterbacks — the ones signing $50 million checks and chasing postseason hardware — don’t always enjoy ideal conditions.

Patrick Mahomes has operated without premier wideouts for long stretches in recent years, relying heavily on his tight end. (That seems familiar.)

Allen frequently produces with a rotating, middling cast of targets.

Both simply find a way to win.

Purdy is playing the best football of his career. At this peak, he looks capable of ascending into that transcendent tier.

And If he solves Denver’s man coverage, travels to Seattle, and pulls out a divisional slugfest without a full complement of weapons, he will cement that status.

If he stumbles, expect another round of relentless criticism from national pundits.

Win or lose, listening to skeptics question whether Purdy is truly elite has grown tiresome.

Two weeks. No excuses, despite plenty of built-in, valid justifications.

Purdy is playing at an MVP level. There’s not much doubt about it.

The 49ers now need him to prove it beyond a shadow of that doubt.

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