Studs and Duds: Niners huge win over Saints led by Christian McCaffrey and… Mac Jones?

Kyle Shanahan s ers can t help it Whenever they go to New Orleans they end up in a shootout Sunday s Week matchup between the ers and Saints was more entertaining than it had any right to be and the Niners have a - record that shows that guts matter a heck of a lot in the NFL Here are the studs and duds in no particular order from the Niners - win STUDS Related Articles Brandon Staley s time with the ers was unremarkable His Saints defense is anything but The Bob Show DC Robert Saleh is here to save the ers season Kurtenbach You thought the ers chaos was limited to last season Think again The ers defense is leaning on rookies Here s how they did in Week Kurtenbach An act of mercy it s time again for the ers to cut kicker Jake Moody 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 event in New Orleans Sunday Sept AP Photo Gerald Herbert Christian McCaffrey RB Is he a perfect offensive football participant Sunday s performance was good evidence to confirm that suspicion For a large portion of the competition it was McCaffrey or nothing for the Niners That s apparently good enough to be a functional offense My goodness was he good San Francisco ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall makes a reception as New Orleans Saints cornerback Isaac Yiadom defends during an NFL football contest Sunday Sep in New Orleans AP Photo Tyler Kaufman Ricky Pearsall WR Folks the only Niners receiver who could consistently separate on Sunday was Pearsall He s a star New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler bottom is tackled by San Francisco ers linebacker Dee Winters during the second half of an NFL football competition in New Orleans Sunday Sept AP Photo Butch Dill Dee Winters LB One brilliant challenge That might be a fluke Back-to-back brilliant performances That s a trend folks Winters is the real deal and the Niners defense carries a different swagger because of it San Francisco ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings runs the ball past New Orleans Saints safety Jonas Sanker during an NFL football contest Sunday Sep in New Orleans AP Photo Tyler Kaufman Jauan Jennings WR I d be remiss not to shout out the warrior-like performance from Jennings His shoulder was busted up his legs looked like they weighed pounds each and yet he still caught five passes for yards including a -yard game-winning touchdown San Francisco ers defensive end Bryce Huff celebrates after sacking New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler to force a turnover on downs during the second half of an NFL football championship in New Orleans Sunday Sept AP Photo Butch Dill Bryce Huff DE No one doubted that he could rush the passer as a hand-in-the-ground defensive end Huff was not only a consistent winner as a pass rusher but he s held up better in the run encounter than I ever imagined The game-winning forced fumble off an elite rush was merely the cherry on top Nice pickup by the Niners NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco ers looks on against the New Orleans Saints during the second half in the competition at Caesars Superdome on September in New Orleans Louisiana Photo by Sean Gardner Getty Images Kyle Shanahan HC Shanahan busted out the old playbook and turned Mac Jones into Jimmy Garoppolo and Christian McCaffrey into Deebo Samuel And boy did it ever work Was it an elite offensive performance Hardly But it was solid in a situation where the Niners had little right to be solid Shanahan can still scheme it up folks San Francisco ers defensive end Bryce Huff celebrates with cornerback Upton Stout rear and defensive end Mykel Williams after sacking New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler to force a turnover on downs during the second half of an NFL football encounter in New Orleans Sunday Sept AP Photo Butch Dill Mykel Williams DE The rookie lived in the Saints backfield So much for all that hand-wringing from the YouTube highlights crowd about that first event which was good NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER Mac Jones of the San Francisco ers is congratulated by Christian McCaffrey after passing the ball for a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the second half in the encounter at Caesars Superdome on September in New Orleans Louisiana Photo by Sean Gardner Getty Images Mac Jones QB That s a pretty darn good backup quarterback 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 Jake Tonges TE A sneaky positive expansion of the preseason was Tonges reps at fullback He was really good at it That proved vital in this tournament where he was indeed very good at it with Kyle Juszczyk out with a concussion New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara right is brought down by San Francisco ers safety Ji'Ayir Brown left before fumbling the ball which was recovered by linebacker Fred Warner during the second half of an NFL football battle in New Orleans Sunday Sept AP Photo Gerald Herbert Ji Ayir Brown SS Big credit to defensive coordinator Robert Saleh for finding a role for the wayward Brown who stood out as a third-down strong safety linebacker in this contest DUDS Related Articles 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 Timeline How Mac Jones ended up being the ers starting quarterback How to watch the ers vs the Saints on Sunday Alfred Collins DT I didn t know you could ice skate in New Orleans After a disastrous first battle where he stopped receiving snaps in the second half Collins was even more of a weak point in Week That s not the trajectory you want any rookie to take much less your second-round pick who was drafted to a position of need with an intent for immediate impact Dominik Puni RG Puni is playing injured and you can see it rep after rep Brian Robinson RB Niners fans were far more excited about Robinson than those in-house because for fans Robinson s reputation as a one-year Fantasy Football league winner preceded him But he s not that back anymore and he certainly isn t behind this Niners offensive line which sold out to pass-protect on Sunday Robinson isn t a bad performer he s totally the majority of average running back He ll get you everything you block for him and nothing more That meant an average of yards per carry in the first half Think of Robinson as a control running back How good is Christian McCaffrey Look at how hard this all seems for Robinson Issac Guerendo KR He was given a couple of chances to return kicks and botched them both by making a bad one-on-one read and then returning one from the end zone If you re wondering why the Niners traded for Robinson instead of playing Guerendo the kickoff returns were an excellent explanation He doesn t see it and if you can t see it you can t play for Shanahan