The San Francisco 49ers entered Thursday night's Week 5 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams severely depleted on offense, missing their top three wide receivers and starting quarterback Brock Purdy, which opened the door for former first-round pick Mac Jones to start for the third time this season.
Jones didn't disappoint, remaining unbeaten as a starter and completing 33 of 49 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-23 overtime victory.
So far this season, Jones has thrown for at least 275 passing yards in every start, tallying six touchdown passes and just one interception, with wins over the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, and now the Rams.
While 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan appears committed to Purdy when healthy, Jones' performances have sparked the question of whether he should remain the starter despite Purdy signing a five-year, $265 million extension this offseason.
Jones, however, was clear in his postgame comments about where he thinks he stands.
"They brought me here to play as a backup, and that's my job," Jones said. "Brock's the starter of this team, and right now he's dealing with something. For him to go out last week and play when he probably wasn't at full health shows how much he cares about this team. I'm just trying to get some wins for him so it helps us down the line."
There's still no firm timetable for Purdy's return to the field. He could be back as early as next week when the 49ers face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but there is growing concern he may also miss Week 6. If that happens, Jones would start again despite not being at 100% himself, playing through a PCL sprain sustained in training camp and re-injured during his start two weeks ago.
Jones' journey has been an intriguing one. After winning a national championship at Alabama, he showed promise with the New England Patriots, making a Pro Bowl and leading them to the playoffs as a rookie.
However, he later got caught in a quarterback carousel with Bailey Zappe and never fully found his rhythm, leading to his departure when he was traded to Jacksonville. He spent one season as a backup for the Jaguars before joining the 49ers this offseason, where he plays behind Purdy and is coached by Kyle Shanahan, who reportedly wanted to draft Jones back in 2021 when the 49ers traded up to the No. 3 overall pick but ultimately took Trey Lance.
Shanahan spoke extremely highly about Jones’ performance on Thursday night against the Rams, in which he lead the 49ers to a gutsy victory on the road against a divisional rival while he was clearly dealing with some injury issues himself.
“He played his [expletive] off, man,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Jones. “He was unbelievable in the first half. He got banged up there in the second half and battled through it. He protected the ball and, going against that defense and throwing the ball that many times, not having a turnover and protecting the ball like he did, I can’t say enough good things about Mac.”
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