Mac Jones has won his third game for the San Francisco 49ers as the backup led the team to a 26-23 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams on October 2 at SoFi Stadium.
Jones went 33-for-49 on his passes, resulting in 342 passing yards and two touchdowns. Brock Purdy has dealt with injuries after the Week 1 win over the Seattle Seahawks, and Jones has filled in flawlessly as three of the four wins this season have come with the Alabama signal caller under center.
Moreover, the only loss that San Francisco has experienced came with Purdy returning as the starting quarterback in Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Niners’ backup quarterback received praise from CBS Sports NFL analyst Emory Hunt after leading the team to a road win against the Rams.
“The ball came out on time,” Hunt said on the October 2 edition of “CBS Sports HQ.” “It came out accurately. It came out to the right guy. He was picking apart this Rams‘ linebacking core and secondary.
“You saw the chemistry he had with his old teammate, Kendrick Bourne, who also was tearing up this defense for over 140 yards, receiving 10 receptions. He had the one drop, but didn’t drop a ball the rest of the way. So you like that Mac Jones went out there and competed down and down out. Gutsy performance.”
49ers QB Mac Jones Played Through an Injury
Despite playing this Week 5 game, Jones has also dealt with an injury. Nonetheless, Hunt applauded the 49ers‘ quarterback for playing through the pain to ensure that San Francisco left Los Angeles with the win.
“The knee injury started to affect him in the second half,” Hunt added. “But man, you talk about coming up big in high-leverage moments. I’m big on that. He was big tonight in that regard. Kudos to Mac Jones.
“This is what you want to see from your starter in waiting. I hate saying backup, but the starter in waiting came into the ball game and carried this team through the game, getting them the upset against a division rival.”
Trent Williams Talks 49ers QB Mac Jones
Hunt isn’t the only one praising Jones for his performance against the Rams. After the game, Trent Williams spoke to the media and shared his thoughts on the former New England Patriots quarterback’s ability to lead the team to a bounce-back win over a division rival.
“I mean, just an apex competitor,” Williams told reporters (h/t 95.7 The Game). “He’s one of those guys where it’s not a surprise why people drafted him where they drafted him, why everybody’s so high on him. He has such a high ceiling. Just a really cool guy to be around as well.”
The 49ers will have a few days off now and will need to determine at some point until their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers whether they want to ride with Jones or feel Purdy is healthy enough to return as the starting quarterback.