Purdy
QB · SF vs DEN
Proj pts
16.9pts
market
Love
QB · GB vs TB
Proj pts
16.3pts
market
Brock Purdy or Jordan Love: who should I start in Week 4?
Start Brock Purdy. Bench Jordan Love. Brock Purdy leads at 16.9. Jordan Love is the first one out, 0.6 short.
Crowd: started Purdy 85% · Love 50%
Highlights
Pros
- Spike upside31.1 ceiling
Cons
- Tough matchupTough · D vs QB
- Shaky floor11.9 floor
Pros
- Favorable matchupFavorable · A vs QB
Cons
- Shaky floor12.6 floor
Some recent form, opportunity and matchup figures still lean on the 2025 season (not enough games played this season yet).
Week 4 · Updated Tue 6:00 AM ET
Why Brock Purdy
Start Brock Purdy — projects 16.9, a tough matchup vs DEN, with a rising role.
Brock Purdy projects 16.9 points on a 11.9–31.1 range. The matchup grades as tough against DEN. Usage: pass attempts / game at 31.6. Net: Brock Purdy is start this week.
Working for Purdy: Spike upside (31.1 ceiling).
Working against Purdy: Tough matchup (Tough · D vs QB), Shaky floor (11.9 floor).
Where Purdy leads the head-to-head: Projection (16.9 vs 16.3); Ceiling (31.1 vs 19.6); Pass attempts (31.6 vs 29.3); Implied team total (25.3 vs 21.5); Last 3 avg (27.0 vs 17.3); Last 5 avg (24.6 vs 13.9); vs season (+2.2 vs -1.4); Boom rate (22% vs 20%); Pass attempts / game (31.6 vs 29.3); Completions / game (21.9 vs 19.4); Touchdown rate (7% vs 5%); Rush attempts / game (3.7 vs 3.1); Rush yards / game (16.3 vs 13.3); Rushing production share (18% vs 8%); Implied total (25.3 vs 21.5).
Why Jordan Love
Sit Jordan Love — projects 16.3, a favorable matchup vs TB, with a rising role.
Jordan Love projects 16.3 points on a 12.6–19.6 range. The matchup grades as favorable against TB. Usage: pass attempts / game at 29.3. Net: Jordan Love is a bench this week.
Working for Love: Favorable matchup (Favorable · A vs QB).
Working against Love: Shaky floor (12.6 floor).
Where Love leads the head-to-head: Floor (12.6 vs 11.9); Matchup grade (recency weighted) (A vs D); Consistency (56% vs 51%); Bust rate (13% vs 22%); Yards per attempt (7.7 vs 7.6); Grade vs QB (recency weighted) (A vs D).
Recent form
Brock Purdy's last 5 games: PPR points 36.9, 5.2, 21.1, 28.5, 31.3 (oldest to newest).
Jordan Love's last 5 games: PPR points 13.9, 3.8, 19.5, 13.8, 18.5 (oldest to newest).
Purdy has already beaten Love's 16.3 projection in 4 of his 5; Love has beaten Purdy's 16.9 in 2 of his 5.
At least 1 of these 5 were played before the 2026 season — the card does not date them.
Matchup
Brock Purdy (SF) faces DEN, kickoff Sun 4:25 PM ET. The matchup is rated tough. Betting line: implied team total 25.3, spread -3.0.
Jordan Love (GB) faces TB, kickoff Sun 1:00 PM ET. The matchup is rated favorable. Betting line: implied team total 21.5, spread -3.5.
What flips it
Purdy's edge is 0.6 points (16.9 to 16.3). Love's ceiling (19.6) clears Purdy's projection, so a big game from Love flips it. Purdy's floor (11.9) sits under Love's projection, so a quiet game from Purdy flips it too. Confidence in the call: moderate.
How to read these numbers
- Confidence in the call
- How clear-cut this start/sit call is — how decisively the player beats the alternative he competes with (for a starter, the best player on your bench; for a bench player, the last one in your lineup), on both projected points and the overlap of their likely ranges. A clear play reads high; a genuine toss-up reads lower. It rates the decision, not the player’s own volatility, and is not a measured accuracy rate.
- Floor
- The 20th percentile of the same simulated distribution.
- Ceiling
- The 90th percentile of the same simulated distribution.
- Matchup grade
- The opponent’s points allowed to this position per game, weighted toward recent games, then graded on a curve across the 32 defenses.
- Implied team total
- The points the betting market expects this team to score, derived from the game total and the spread. Market-derived, not modelled by Nuvela.
- Trend
- The direction of his scoring across the trailing window, classified as heating, steady or cooling.
- Consistency
- The share of his games that landed within a set band of his own per-game average.
- Boom rate
- The share of his games that finished inside the top 12 scorers at his position for that week.
- Bust rate
- The share of his games that came in under half of what he was projected for that week.
- Defense funnel
- Whether the opponent’s rush defense and pass defense are far enough apart to push offenses one way. A gap inside the band reads Neutral.
- Game script projection
- The expected state of the game for his team — favoured, level or trailing — taken from the closing spread.
More start/sit comparisons from this week's PPR projections. Open a pair for the call and the reasoning.