49ers’ Mac Jones stands and delivers in place of Brock Purdy in win over Saints

The buzz around the ers is that Brock Purdy recovering from turf toe could be back sooner than expected No need to rush Mac Jones proved in a - road win over the New Orleans Saints Sunday that the most of significant position in professional sports is in good hands The job belongs to Purdy but coach Kyle Shanahan can be secure in the knowledge that if the million man requirements more time Jones gives him his best backup option in his seven years as a head coach Based on the way Shanahan called the championship against New Orleans it s something he fully realized going in Shanahan placed the match in Jones hands from the outset Any thought the ers would go ultra-run-heavy to help negate their injury issues was mistaken Despite leading throughout they passed the ball times and ran it That s unique for a Shanahan-coached band The first four snaps of the contest were pass plays All incomplete From there Jones other than a lost fumble when he held the ball too long kept a makeshift ers offense humming even after fullback Kyle Juszczyk concussion and left guard Ben Bartch knee departed Jones completed of passes for yards with touchdown passes of yards to Luke Farrell yards to Christian McCaffrey and yards to Jauan Jennings Shanahan was still calling passes late in the tournament even when it might have been more prudent to call runs The three touchdown passes tied Jones career high and he targeted different receivers completing passes to eight of them True it was the Shanahan system But keep in mind a lot of players are missing and it s not as if Jones was playing with a -caliber supporting cast The ers already down Purdy and George Kittle and awaiting the return of Brandon Aiyuk are far from perfect But this is quarterback nirvana for Shanahan He has two signal callers he absolutely trusts to execute his system He trusts Jones more than he did Jimmy Garoppolo Sam Darnold and Trey Lance the man the ers took in the draft instead of Jones Obviously when you re having your first start you re going to have particular nerves Jones reported I was just working through those And once I conclusively got into a rhythm I felt the line did a great job blocking for me and when they do that I know I can sit in there and let it fly Mac Jones celebrates with Luke Farrell and Christian McCaffrey after his touchdown pass to Farrell for the ers Getty Images Much was made of how little the ers did in free agency as they purged their roster Their first touchdown came with their two preponderance essential free agent additions Farrell and Jones And the good news for the ers is that unlike Darnold who signed a one-year contract in they ve got Jones for two years before he moves on to promising riches after rebuilding his encounter after three seasons with New England and one in Jacksonville I think I can play really well and I know this organization and squad is really doing a good job just trying to get me back on track Jones commented It s good to kind of feel a little bit of confidence again and I ve got to carry that into next week It s one event Lose or win it shouldn t matter Your process should stay the same and that s what I m going to do Jones made a announcement drive late in the first half after the Saints had closed within - on an -yard touchdown pass from Spencer Rattler with remaining On third-and- from the ers -yard line and seconds left Jones revealed Ricky Pearsall Jr down the left sideline for yards against Jonas Sanker Completions to Jake Tonges and Kendrick Bourne got the ball to the Jones hit McCaffrey for yards to the and then the touchdown on a tougher-than-it looked pass in the right flat of the end zone By this time Juszczyk and Bartch had left with Tonges and Farrell altering their roles at tight end and rookie seventh-round draft pick Connor Colby stepping in for Bartch We were scrambling there for a little bit trying to figure things out but I thought Jones handled the situation well Shanahan declared He delivered the ball real well When the Saints scored their second touchdown the ers answered again this time with a -yard field goal from Eddy Pi eiro Included were completions of yards to Pearsall and yards to Bourne Both were on first down further evidence that Shanahan was fine with letting Jones take the lead with his passing rather than relying on first-down rushing plays After Fred Warner forced and recovered an Alvin Kamara late in the third quarter Jones made sure to cash in on the turnover with his -yard catch and run for a - lead that ultimately sealed the deal NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER Fred Warner of the San Francisco ers celebrates a fumble recovery against the New Orleans Saints during the second half in the contest at Caesars Superdome on September in New Orleans Louisiana Photo by Sean Gardner Getty Images San Francisco ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings runs the ball past New Orleans Saints safety Jonas Sanker during an NFL football event Sunday Sep in New Orleans AP Photo Tyler Kaufman San Francisco ers running back Christian McCaffrey right catches a pass against New Orleans Saints linebacker Pete Werner during the second half of an NFL football contest in New Orleans Sunday Sept AP Photo Gerald Herbert San Francisco ers tight end Luke Farrell celebrates after scoring a touchdown with quarterback Mac Jones during an NFL football meeting against the New Orleans Saints Sunday Sep in New Orleans AP Photo Tyler Kaufman San Francisco ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings is tackled by New Orleans Saints safety Jonas Sanker during an NFL football tournament Sunday Sep in New Orleans AP Photo Tyler Kaufman NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER Malik Turner of the San Francisco ers is tackled by Alontae Taylor of the New Orleans Saints during the first half in the competition at Caesars Superdome on September in New Orleans Louisiana Photo by Sean Gardner Getty Images New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed makes a reception as San Francisco ers cornerback Renardo Green defends during an NFL football match Sunday Sep in New Orleans AP Photo Tyler Kaufman San Francisco ers tight end Jake Tonges is tackled by New Orleans Saints linebacker Pete Werner during an NFL football meeting Sunday Sep in New Orleans AP Photo Tyler Kaufman A San Francisco ers fan watches during the second half of an NFL football competition between the New Orleans Saints and the ers in New Orleans Sunday Sept AP Photo Butch Dill San Francisco ers running back Christian McCaffrey runs against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL football meeting in New Orleans Sunday Sept AP Photo Butch Dill Show Caption of NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER Fred Warner of the San Francisco ers celebrates a fumble recovery against the New Orleans Saints during the second half in the tournament at Caesars Superdome on September in New Orleans Louisiana Photo by Sean Gardner Getty Images Expand It was a normal routine play that we run a lot Jennings stated I wouldn t think I was going to get the ball because the backer dropped and got deep but Mac ripped a beautiful ball and got into the end zone He plays with a lot of capacity a lot of passion I think that s what San Francisco s made of Rather than wear out McCaffrey after a -touch opener against Seattle his workload was reasonable and effective with rushes for yards and six catches for more McCaffrey mentioned he didn t feel as if Jones needed any kind of pregame pep talk after starting games for the Patriots and Jaguars Mac s played a lot of football games and we all had full confidence in him McCaffrey declared He had confidence in us He plays with so much swagger He s so loose on the sideline and a great leader Having a guy like Brock down and having Mac step in was awesome Defensive end Nick Bosa used the same word in describing what Jones brings to the contest It s fun vigor to have a backup quarterback with that much swagger and the offense feeds off it Bosa commented He did a great job in the current era Related Articles What the ers disclosed after beating the Saints Studs and Duds Niners huge win over Saints led by Christian McCaffrey and Mac Jones ers Saints Jones three TD passes late defensive heroics help Niners reach - ers-Saints updates Jauan Jennings Trent Williams suit up for Mac Jones debut Brandon Staley s time with the ers was unremarkable His Saints defense is anything but Jones noted he has worked on his breathing and slowing down his pulse and got several words of wisdom from Trent Williams who played every snap with a knee injury and didn t determine whether he d be able to go until pregame warmups He s like You re good Now go out and hoop ' and I was like I got you I can go hoop ' Jones commented Once he commented that I thought Let s play ball ' There s a long way to go for the - ers but as far as backup plans go first impressions are that Jones is as good as it gets