INGELWOOD, Calif. — 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan must feel like he’s living in a fever dream after his team exited SoFi Stadium with a dramatic 26-23 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday.
To understand why, you have to go back to the spring of 2021, when San Francisco made the bold decision to trade up to the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. With Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson off the board, the 49ers had a decision to make: Take either Justin Fields, Trey Lance, or Mac Jones.
As the story goes, the 49ers picked Lance, but it never quite worked out. However, just over four years after that, Shanahan’s team was in a pinch because its $265 million quarterback (Brock Purdy) was going to miss his third game in the last four weeks because of a turf toe injury,
Because of that, Jones got to offer a glimpse of what might’ve happened if there had been a partnership with one of the top offensive minds in the game from the jump. Jones finished 33 of 49 for 342 yards and two touchdowns and led the 49ers to an improbable win over their NFC West rival as an 8.5-point underdog to help his team move to 4-1.
After going 1-5 against division opponents during an injury-riddled 2024 season, the 49ers are firmly at the top of the division with a 3-0 record against those opponents.
“He played his ass off,” Shanahan said. “(Mac) was unbelievable in the first half. Got banged up in the second half and battled through it and protected the ball going against that defense. Throwing the ball that many times without having a turnover. I can’t say enough good things about Mac.”
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Not only were the 49ers missing Purdy, Nick Bosa (who is out for the season with a torn ACL) and star tight end George Kittle (who landed on injured reserve after Week 1), but also wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings.
That meant putting together a makeshift receiving corps — led by Kendrick Bourne — on the field against a defense that Jones described as the best in the NFL earlier in the week.
Bourne, who played with the 49ers from 2017-20 before signing with the New England Patriots, re-signed with the team following Week 1. Like Jones, he also had a day to remember, finishing with a career-high 142 receiving yards on 10 catches.
49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who played with Bourne previously and is one of the longest tenured players on his team, described the energy boost the team received when he was brought back last month.
“It’s awesome (to have him back),” Juszczyk told CBS Sports. “He’s such a reliable player. He brings so much energy.”
How the 49ers’ offseason reset is paying dividends
After finishing 6-11 last season and a year removed from a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, big changes to the roster were inevitable to hand out more big contracts — like Purdy’s — this past offseason.
The franchise traded away star wide receiver Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders and running back Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings. San Francisco also lost safety Talanoa Hufanga, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, offensive lineman Aaron Banks and cornerback Charvarius Ward, among others, during free agency.
The reshuffling of the roster was part of a calculated plan to reset the books, lock down blue-chip players and build up the defensive line through the draft, with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh returning, which made the 49ers a Super Bowl contender in the first place.
The 49ers spent their first five picks in last spring’s draft on defenders, which included drafting defensive lineman Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins and nickelback Upton Stout in the first three rounds.
Collins, a mammoth defensive tackle out of Texas, started his NFL career slowly with just three total tackles in his first four games. But with the 49ers shorthanded, he made one of the most impressive plays of the season by punching the ball out of Rams star running back Kyren Williams near the goal line during the final minutes of regulation.
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“AC has gotten consistently better since he’s shown up,” 49ers defensive end Bryce Huff told CBS Sports. “I remember him being in the locker room and just chopping away, just getting better and better. He showed up tonight. Made some huge plays.”
The signature moment of Collins’ young NFL career didn’t seal the win initially for the 49ers, but the play was part of a theme of players on the roster stepping up down the stretch.
In Week 1, Bosa stripped Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and recovered the fumble to seal the game. The following week, Huff made the big play against the New Orleans Saints with a sack that gave his team a 26-21 win. During the 49ers’ 16-15 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Stout recorded a key pass breakup on third down, which allowed Jones to lead his team down the field for a field goal as time expired on the following possession.
And when push came to shove and the game was on the line, it was two rookies who helped end the game. Collins, fifth-round rookie Marques Sigle and star cornerback Deommodore Lenoir stopped Williams short on fourth-and-1 to give San Francisco a win that might’ve very well gone the other way last season.
“(49ers general manager) John Lynch is probably going to celebrate on the plane tonight,” Warner said. “Alfred Collins, unbelievable play on the 1-yard line. … our young (have been) playing big for us. They’re just getting started.”
Reinforcements on the way for San Francisco?
Even better news for the 49ers ahead of a (mini) 10-day bye week is that help could be on the way. Before the game, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that reinforcements could be on the way for a marquee showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next weekend.
Rapoport noted that Pearsall, Jennings and Kittle could all return in Week 6, while Purdy remains week-to-week with the turf toe injury. If Purdy can’t go, Jones will start for the fourth time in a 49ers uniform.
“They brought me here to play as a backup and that’s my job,” Jones said. “Brock’s the starter of this team. Right nowhe’s dealing with something and for him to go out last week and play when you probably know he’s not at full health shows a lot. I’m just trying to get some wins for this team so it helps us down the line.”
San Francisco entered the night with the second-best odds (+230) to win the NFC West behind the Rams, per FanDuel. Those odds have since flipped, as the 49ers (-105) are now the favorites ahead of the Rams and Seahawks to win the division after starting 3-0 against NFC West competition.
The 49ers took a risk by saying goodbye to several key players last offseason and flipping their roster with young, cost-controlled talent. The early returns suggest that the plan may work. If Thursday — or the previous other four games — were any indication of what’s to come, it’s that this version of the 49ers could be a dangerous out in January.