San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has yet to be sacked over the first three weeks. And while that's been a phenomanal achievement for the signal-caller, amid his red-hot start to the season, it also sheds light on the underrated unit in front of him: the offensive line.
This prompted head coach Kyle Shanahan to defend his O-line after the Niners' Week 3 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
"The hate on our O-Line always surprises me, personally," Shanahan told reporters. "I think they’ve done pretty good for awhile. I love our O-Line. I think they’ve been real consistent for a number of years, and they’re playing really well right now."
Shanahan's comments are nice, and to a certain degree, true.
But Week 4's showdown against the Denver Broncos will be the next level of challenge.
49ers O-line hasn't faced elite-level pass rushes just yet
Granted, San Francisco's Week 1 opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, were supposed to boast one of the NFL's best defensive lines. Yet L.A.'s odd Australia travel plans, combined with defensive end Myles Garrett's injury and the then-absence of defensive tackle Aaron Donald, meant the 49ers weren't majorly impacted by Los Angeles' pass rush.
Looking at the Niners' subsequent two opponents, the Miami Dolphins and Cardinals, there shouldn't exactly be a lot of fear there.
Those three opponents have a combined seven sacks on the year, and Miami has yet to record a sack. And all three teams are in the bottom 10 for quarterback pressures, too.
Given the small sample size, it's fair to say San Francisco influenced those numbers.
But these X-factors will collide in Week 4.
Broncos give 49ers biggest pass-rush threat to date
Denver's pass rush has been particularly effective this season. While eight sacks may not seem like a ton through three weeks, 18 quarterback hits lead the league.
As the Rams found out in Week 3, pressure can lead to interceptions (thank you, Talanoa Hufanga), meaning Purdy's success to date will, too, be on the watch list when the 49ers and Broncos collide at Levi's Stadium.
Broncos defense allows the third-lowest time to throw (2.67 sec) and has the sixth-highest pressure rate (39.5%) in the NFL.#49ers offensive line (and Brock Purdy) will be put to the test on Sunday.
— Jose Sanchez (@JS3Sanchezz) September 30, 2026
While awfully cliche, the matchup between Purdy and his O-line versus Denver's pass rush is the proverbial "unstoppable force against an immovable object" kind of comparison.
Which one gives?
Granted, the Broncos haven't fared well against the run, meaning Shanahan may rely heavily on his ground game, thereby taking pressure off Purdy and his pass protectors as much as possible.
But, when looking at those pure pass sets, it'll be provocative to see if the Niners' recent trend was more of an anomaly, thanks to weaker competition, than an indicator of what's to come.
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