Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section 415 email newsletter here and subscribe to the Section 415 podcast wherever you listen.

The $265-million man walked back onto the field for the 49ers on Sunday, and yes, you could understand why Brock Purdy has always been worth it.

As they say in Hollywood, you could see every dollar on the screen during the 49ers’ 41-22 victory over the Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz., couldn’t you?

Maybe while he was out, some people forgot how different things are when Purdy is healthy and the 49ers’ offense is at full throttle. Maybe there was some understandable quarterback amnesia when Mac Jones stepped in for eight games this season and looked so confident and effective.

But there’s a reason Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch were completely comfortable committing all that money to Purdy last offseason, even knowing it’d lead to salary cutbacks throughout the roster and lessening Super Bowl chances this season.

And there’s a reason the 49ers were so cautious about bringing him back this time after rushing him into the Jacksonville game in Week 4 only to watch Purdy reaggravate the toe he initially hurt in Week 1.

Purdy’s their QB1. They’re riding with him, not just for now but for 2026, 2027, and on. They need him. Jones has been very good this season — so good that it gave the 49ers the ability to let Purdy get as healthy as possible — but Purdy is better. Just look at the stats. Understand the locker room. It’s never been in question.

And also: Did you see Purdy’s second, third, and fourth throws in the first quarter on Sunday? Laser shot 25-yard completion to Jauan Jennings on the left side on third-and-6, nice pass to Demarcus Robinson on the right for 13 yards, then a check out of the initial call, a smooth shuffle back into shotgun, and a perfect pass to George Kittle racing down the left sideline for a 30-yard touchdown.

That gave the 49ers a 13-0 lead after the blocked extra-point try. That welcomed Purdy back to active footballing. And that, in every little and large way, signified the 49ers’ return to the level of offensive swagger that they haven’t had since their Super Bowl run in 2023 — before Christian McCaffrey was hurt and limited last season and before Purdy’s turf toe issue this season.

They went 5-3 in Jones’ starts, weathering so many grievous injuries, and those wins are immensely important to anything the 49ers might accomplish this season now that they’re 7-4. But having Purdy back was immensely important to everything the 49ers might accomplish in the next few months and then in the next decade.

You could tell immediately in this game. The 49ers’ offense just felt snappier, things came easier, and the biggest plays were more dynamic. One detail: Purdy always looks to go down field. If somebody’s open, he goes for it.

“Brock’s presence in the huddle is just so elite, and how he talks to the players,” Kittle told reporters after the game. “It’s just so much fun to play football with him. Five plays into the game he hits me 30 yards down the field on a perfect pass.

“He was definitely feeling it. … I mean, more people were celebrating with Brock than with me. I was a little jealous.”

The 49ers still have defensive holes that won’t be fully fixed until Fred Warner and Nick Bosa are healed next season. This isn’t about title contention this season. This is about the 49ers’ wild-card chances to scare a lot of teams in January by scoring a ton of points — and that’s because they’ve got Purdy back.

Here’s the formula, which has been tested and proven from the first time Purdy stepped into the lineup as a rookie back in December 2022:

Shanahan plus Purdy plus McCaffrey equals lots of yards and plenty of points. The 49ers subtracted a lot of players last offseason and they’ve lost some great ones during this season; but right now, with Purdy back, they’re very, very dangerous.

“You’ve just got to look at his numbers and stuff, throughout him playing and everything,” Shanahan said. “And not many people have done it better than him.

“He’s as efficient as anyone, he’s made as (many) big plays as anyone. And he’s led us to a lot of wins.”

And remember, Purdy’s never actually had a bad stretch of games in his NFL career. He’s put up a few bad performances, sure, but never a run of bad ones. Not even close. And Purdy’s had several runs of great games.

If he’s your QB, you have a high-floor/high-ceiling offense, which is worth every bit of $265 million.

For example, the 49ers were fourth in yards and 13th in points last season — in a lost year, with McCaffrey completely limited or missing the entire way, and Purdy getting some amount of criticism for the tumble to 6-11. As QB1 always will and probably always should. Some criticism.

Overall in the cursed 2024, Purdy had a 96.1 passer rating, which is not great, but definitely not terrible. (Jones’ passer rating in the greatest run of his career this season? 97.4) Purdy’s rating was 13th among qualified QBs — and in QBR, which measure factors like sacks taken and scrambles, Purdy was seventh.

This mostly all only seemed disappointing because Purdy’s rating was a ridiculous 107.3 as a rookie in 2022 and a league-best 113.0 in 2023.

Update for this season: After going 19-for-26 for 200 yards, 3 TDs, and a 133.5 rating on Sunday, Purdy’s season rating is now 98.3.

Oh, by the way, Purdy’s at a 104.3 career rating, and the all-time NFL leader in the category is Lamar Jackson, whose 47.6 rating in a sludgy Baltimore victory over the Browns dropped him to 102.8 (from 103.3).

Purdy isn’t currently ranked No. 1 all-time because you need 1,500 attempts to qualify for career passing marks. Purdy is now at 1,168 attempts — he should get to the qualifying number and, unless there’s a performance dip, will be ranked in the top five all-time by early next season.

When I cite these kinds of stats, I’m not arguing that Purdy is an all-time great, is headed toward being an all-time great, or is one of the elite QBs right now. I’m saying he’s been extremely good from the moment he stepped in as the 49ers’ QB and he’s never stopped being very good.

He got on the field Sunday for the first time since September, and he was — surprise, shock, amazement — very good.

“He was vintage Brock and that’s a huge compliment,” McCaffrey said.

He’s never awful. And four or five times a season, he’s incandescent. That’s what you pay $53 million a year to get. That’s worth every dollar. Nobody on the 49ers needed any reminder of this, but if you did, there it was. And as always with Purdy, more is coming.