Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
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(Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)
Brock Purdywas sidelined, but the San Francisco 49ers found no trouble as Mac Jones led them to a 26-21 triumph over the New Orleans Saints on September 14 at the Caesars Superdome.
Jones finished 26 of 39 for 279 yards and three touchdowns, keeping the offense balanced and spreading the ball around. Jauan Jennings stood out as his primary target, catching five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.
On the September 15 edition of “The Herd,” host Colin Cowherd stated that the former New England Patriots isjust another example of 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan working his magic with a quarterback.
“We said this for years and years about Kyle Shanahan,” Cowherd said. “He made Matt Schaub a Pro Bowler, had a winning record with Brian Hoyer, made Jimmy Garoppolo almost a Super Bowl-winning quarterback…And he pulled some magic [on September 14] with Mac Jones. Mac Jones threw the ball 39 times on the road.
“Christian McCaffrey only had 13 carries. It was a big ask. And Mac Jones was great… I think a lot of Brock Purdy’s success is circumstantial because of Shanahan. I mean, Mac Jones, he could be one of the worst NFL athletes to [be a] quarterback.
“He does not have a big arm. 39 throws, 113 passer rating. That was Mac Jones’ best game as a pro. So I’m not saying he’s Brock Purdy. He’s not. But Brock Purdy is dinged up again. And Shanahan’s playbook might as well be called, ‘Quarterback for Dummies.’ It’s impossible not to figure out.”
Do the 49ers Have Two Reliable Quarterbacks?
Moreover, Cowherd believes that the 49ers now have two reliable quarterbacks that the team can lean on, whether due to injury or poor play. Purdy and Jones have shown they can execute Shanahan’s offense and secure wins.
“The good news for San Francisco, they now have two quarterbacks that work,” Cowherd added. “One’s probably overpaid and one’s absolutely underpaid. But this is what Kyle Shanahan does. That’s why I always said with Brock Purdy,Brock’s better than Mac Jones. I’m not denying that. Is he 265 million better?”
San Francisco Teammates Back Mac Jones
After the win, Jones told reporters that Trent Williams’ words of encouragement helped him settle his nerves and block out the noise during the game.
“It’s just not making it bigger than it is,” Jones told reporters on September 14 (h/tKNBR). “Sometimes when you have them, you fight them, but you can’treally do that. You just gotta let them come and figure out how to work through it. A lot of it’s just breathing and slowing down your pulse.Obviously, worked on that thisoffseason andgot to continue to grow in that area.
“But really, the guys around me, like Trent, came up to me. He’s like, You’re good, dude. Just go out there and hoop. I was like, I got you. I can go hoop. Then once he said that, I was like, All right, let’s play ball. That was cool. If Trent Williams can say that, then I can do it, so that kind of just got me calmed down a little bit.”