The San Francisco 49ers have jumped out to a 3-1 start to the 2025 NFL season, but still, their campaign has been defined by injuries. This is a tale as old as time for the Red and Gold, as they are easily the most injured team in the league over the last decade or so.
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have gotten better at cultivating a deeper team to make up for this, and that starts with backup quarterback Mac Jones. Making his third start of the season for an injured Brock Purdy, Jones had the tall task of traveling to Sofi Stadium to take on the LA Rams.
Not only is this a primetime matchup on a short week against a 3-1 opponent, but first place in the NFC West is on the line. Based on what 49ers fans saw in the first half, though, Jones is not backing down whatsoever, and he's even bringing some added juice.
Mac Jones' hilarious moment against Rams will make 49ers fans laugh
After one of the plays during the first half of the contest, Jones seemingly got tangled up a bit with Rams star edge rusher Byron Young. Instead of just brushing off the contact, Jones embraced it, and he even threw in a little flex, shimmying and trash talk afterward to taunt Young, for good measure.
The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov captured a video of the exchange and posted it on social media for the enjoyment of all Niners fans.
Mac Jones: pic.twitter.com/OBSTud88FY https://t.co/zFUoM0meYN
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 3, 2025
In fairness to Jones, he played well enough in the first half to justify a bit of trash-talking. Jones completed 15-of-23 passes for 179 yards through the air and tacked on two scores, leading San Francisco to a 17-7 advantage at the break.
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Not many folks expected the 49ers to be in this game with all the key injuries they are dealing with, but Jones' play has gone a long way in this stunning start. Head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to reporters at halftime and praised the backup quarterback's play through two quarters.
"He's doing a hell of a job. He's getting rid of the ball, he's being aggressive, when it's not there, he's checking it down. I love how he's playing right now," Shanahan said.
If Jones can continue to play with this much precision, confidence and moxie, then San Francisco may find that there is absolutely no reason to rush Purdy back from injury.
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