Although the San Francisco 49ers' Week 2 opponents, the New Orleans Saints, are widely considered to be one of the worst teams in the NFL, the Niners were bound to enter a slugfest on the road despite being without tight end George Kittle (hamstring) and, most importantly, quarterback Brock Purdy (toe).
The game lived up to that, with offensive inefficiency at the start from both sides turning into touchdown drives going back and forth. The 49ers, with Mac Jones under center in Purdy's stead, answered every time the Saints scored, and just like Week 1, the 49ers' defensive line showed up when it mattered most, notching sacks on back-to-back drives to snuff out NOLA's comeback hopes.
Despite playing the game closely, the Niners mostly played well across the board.
Niner Noise ranks the position groups from the most important to least with regard to the San Francisco victory.
The 49ers leaned on their weapons with a backup quarterback in, and those weapons showed up in a big way. Running back Christian McCaffrey led the way yet again with over 100 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, while wide receiver Jauan Jennings, after being questionable heading into the game, hauled in five targets and the game-winning touchdown.
But the peripheral players also played their part. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall glided for over 50 yards, old friend Kendrick Bourne added 32 yards on his own, and tight end Luke Farrell scored his first-ever touchdown in the NFL.
The Niners needed to support their quarterback, and the skill position players did that.
Mac Jones to Jauan Jennings for the 42-yard TD!
SFvsNO on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/oRKIHFajpv
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025
The linebackers continue to be the backbone of their 2025 defense, and that continued against the Saints. Fred Warner played his typical exceptional coverage and included a needed splash play, forcing and recovering a fumble to stop a Saints drive.
Dee Winters continued his revelatory play. He finished with eight total tackles and blew up several plays. His aggression did cost him a couple of missed tackles and a late hit out of bounds that was flagged, but the 49ers have been winning the trade-offs with his aggression.
Fred the enFORCER 😏
📺 FOX
NFL+ // https://t.co/Zkva0Y3j2j pic.twitter.com/JkSJdUYng6
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 14, 2025
San Francisco's offensive line started off wobbly, a potential concern given the play last year. But it steadied the ship quickly, giving Jones plenty of time in the pocket to navigate and make throws.
The O-line also paved the way in the ground game, with CMC averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
It wasn't a perfect game, but it was great improvement from Week 1.
The defensive line was quiet and average for the majority of the game. Except for a couple of big stops by rookie defensive end Mykel Williams, the Saints churned the ground game, with Alvin Kamara rushing at a 4.7 yards per carry clip.
But things changed when the 49ers needed to make a stop. Just like last week, Nick Bosa got the first sack, shutting down the Saints' penultimate drive. But when the 49ers offense couldn't seal the deal, new addition Bryce Huff came through with an incredible pass-rush move for a strip sack that ended the game.
San Francisco's D-line made the plays it needed to, but it'll want to wreak havoc earlier next time.
Jones, statistically, had a phenomenal game. Head coach Kyle Shanahan had him throw 39 times, and Jones completed 26 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns.
But within the game, it wasn't all pretty. Many of Jones' incompletions were often inaccurate throws, and Jones' lack of elusiveness showed up many times when pressured.
The 49ers' one turnover, a strip-sack, was on Jones as well, who held onto the ball for too long.
But for a first salvo, the Niners will take this performance.
This is the breakeven line
The 49ers defensive backs did not have their best performance. There were multiple big plays given up by most of the secondary, multiple flags on key third-downs that elongated drives, and multiple missed opportunities when Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler was inaccurate.
The secondary did just enough to win the game, but it'll need to clean things up against offenses that can better attack.
On the bright side, the Niners made all their field goals, thanks to new signee Eddy Pineiro. But the 49ers' new kicker also missed his first point-after try, so the kicking game still has room for improvement.
The larger issue with special teams is inefficiency and lack of explosiveness, from punting and kickoffs, both on coverage and return. The Niners lose the field position battle consistently due to special teams, and at some point, it will come back to cost them.
The 49ers will try to string together another win against the division rival Arizona Cardinals, for their home opener.
Overall Rankings as of Week 1 (lower is better!)
Linebackers: 3
Skill Positions: 3
Defensive Line: 8
Defensive Backs: 9
Offensive Line: 9
QBs: 10
Special Teams: 14