Amid the 49ers dealing with a flurry of injuries again this season, Mac Jones has done a good job steering the ship as Brock Purdy deals with a frustrating turf toe injury.
Jones is among the many backups that have stepped up for San Francisco, and has done a great job—going 5-3 while completing 69.6% of his passes for 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns and six picks. Though the red and gold came up short against the Rams this weekend, Jones was a strong 33-of-39 for 319 yards, three touchdowns and a pick.
Jones has played so well that he’s easily exceeded the expectations of his teammate George Kittle, who admitted he did not think Jones would be playing at this level when he joined the 49ers on a two-year deal this past offseason.
“Nope. I did not. Nope,” Kittle responded when asked if he thought Jones would be this good. “It’s awesome. One hell of a football player. I get why he was a first-round draft pick. 33-of-39 or whatever the statistic was, that’s a hell of a football game. He is playing really well, he’s not dangerous with the football either. He makes good throws, he forces a couple once in a while. He’s doing a great job.”
George Kittle was asked if he thought Mac Jones would be this good before he joined the 49ers:
“Nope. I did not. Nope. He’s awesome. One hell of a football player. I get why he was a first round draft pick. 33 of 39 or whatever the statistic was, that’s a hell of a football… pic.twitter.com/9CcC3ts8mG
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) November 10, 2025
Kittle continued, “Our offense isn’t an easy offense for a quarterback ... for Mac to come in and just take control of the offense and play at a high level consistently, it’s awesome. It makes me really happy because I’m a huge fan of Mac Jones. He’s hilarious and I love playing football with him because you can tell he really loves the game.”
Jones ended up flaming out in New England after a series of questionable decisions on the coaching staff, and the 49ers have been a great reset for him. He has done nicely in executing Kyle Shanahan’s offense, an offense that notably has made quarterbacks from Matt Schaub to Nick Mullens look good, and quarterbacks like RGIII and Matt Ryan win major awards like Offensive Rookie of the Year and MVP.
Jones will return to the sidelines once Purdy is ready to play and is locked in with the 49ers for another year, but his play so far this season might be enough to earn him another shot in the future, like Daniel Jones, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold have done.
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