‘Warrior’ Mac Jones lifts 49ers again, vindicating Kyle Shanahan and buying Brock Purdy time

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Imagine if Kyle Shanahan had gotten his way and the San Francisco 49ers had just drafted Mac Jones back in 2021.

We’re joking (we think), but man, are the two having fun now. Jones signed with the 49ers this offseason because he wanted to play in Shanahan’s system. Now he is 3-0 subbing for the injured Brock Purdy after Thursday night’s thrilling, gutsy 26-23 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.

Jones showed up in a half-red, half-black suit and then showed out, completing his first eight passes as the 49ers jumped out to a 14-0 lead despite missing their top four receivers. Then, after taking numerous hits, re-injuring his left knee and having cramps in his forearm in the fourth quarter, Jones led two field goal drives, one to give the Niners a late lead in the fourth quarter and one to take the lead for good in overtime.

“I am buying a Mac Jones jersey,” cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said, after the defense made a fourth-and-1 stop to end the game. “He was on fire tonight. He took a week off, didn’t get a lot of reps and came back and still got the train rolling.

“He is a blessing.”

Jones finished with 342 yards and two touchdowns on 33-of-49 passing. He didn’t even need Shanahan’s pep talk.

The 49ers’ offense was missing injured receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings, after already being without tight end George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. So, nobody gave San Francisco a shot to win the game. The betting money was on the Rams, pushing Los Angeles to more than a touchdown favorite.

“Kyle came up to me, and he was pissed about it,” Jones said. “He’s like, ‘Dude, I can’t believe they moved us to underdogs again.’ … And I’m like, I don’t know what that means really, but yeah, ‘Let’s go kill them. I’m pissed, too.’”

Jones let out a big laugh, which he often does, as his joking personality made him a big favorite in the 49ers’ locker room back in training camp.

Jones said Shanahan told him before the game to “Let it fly,” to which he answered, “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Tight end Jake Tonges, who caught the first touchdown pass, smiled when he heard about that exchange.

“We always know Mac’s going to let it fly,” he said. “He’s been doing that since Day 1 of training camp, and that’s what we love about him.”

Shanahan has always liked Jones’ ability to make the right reads and get rid of the football. He was apparently very correct in thinking he would be a good fit in his system. Especially when that combination just beat old buddy/rival Sean McVay on the road with backups all over San Francisco’s lineup.

“I was really impressed. Mac played his ass off, man,” Shanahan said. “He was unbelievable in the first half. Got banged up a little bit there in the second half and battled through it and protected the ball. Going against that defense and throwing the ball that many times and not turning it over, I can’t say enough good things about Mac.”

Asked if he views Jones as a starting-caliber quarterback, Shanahan replied, “Oh yeah, definitely. Always have.”

There was plenty of pregame chatter about whether the 49ers should have even played Purdy and his injured big toe in the loss to the Jaguars last Sunday, and whether he would be back for the next game at Tampa Bay, 10 days away, after aggravating the injury against Jacksonville.

It doesn’t seem that important now, for a team that is 4-1, 3-0 in its division.

“They brought me here to play as a backup, and that’s my job,” Jones said. “Brock’s the starter of this team. … I’m just trying to get some wins for him so it helps us down the line.”

Jones came out and played Thursday like it was his team, to the delight of the 49ers-leaning crowd (again) at SoFi. He hit old friend Kendrick Bourne in stride for 35 yards on the first touchdown drive.

“We were executing the plays, moving the chains on third down and scoring in the red zone,” Shanahan said. “We hit everything from every area.”

Christian McCaffrey had five touches for 40 yards on that first drive.

Jones loves that he can always check it down to McCaffrey, who had eight catches for 82 yards and a touchdown, while running 22 times for 57 yards.

“He’s the man,” Jones said. “He’s definitely good at his job, and he’s always out there on every play, no matter what. Everybody was counting us out this week, but I knew I had my safety blanket.”

On the second drive that gave the 49ers a 14-0 lead, Jones threw a perfect back-shoulder pass to Demarcus Robinson on a key third down. He then found McCaffrey for a 1-yard touchdown pass after a lot of moving parts had the Rams a step slow getting to the obvious target.

“I thought we were on time with our plays and just playing in rhythm,” Jones said. “Getting the ball out and letting the guys make plays, honestly. When Kyle talked to me before the game, I was like, ‘It’s time to go.’

“I was excited about that.”

Bourne was Jones’ teammate in New England, where Jones butted heads with Bill Belichick after a good rookie season. Jones seemed to rediscover his love for the game last season as a backup in Jacksonville, and now, the 49ers have quite a bargain after signing Jones to a two-year deal for $7 million.

“Mac is just, he’s built the right way,” Bourne said. “He prepares the right way, and he’s zipping the ball in practice. … You can tell he’s confident. It’s just awesome to see him in this space.

“How I seen him in New England was a different world for him. Now, he’s playing free and having fun.”

Jones has two game-winning drives in three starts for the 49ers — both setting up game-winning kicks by Eddy Piñeiro, who was 4 of 4 on Thursday — after having two in 42 starts for the Patriots. He stood in the pocket and delivered the ball while getting hit, this after he went down in the third quarter holding his knee — an old injury that he aggravated two weeks ago and caused him to wear a knee brace Sunday.

Jones smiled big when he told reporters it was the first time a trainer had ever come onto the field to tend to him in his NFL career.

“I don’t have enough good things to say about Mac,” McCaffrey said. “He’s an absolute warrior. He’s a leader. He’s somebody that we all can get behind for sure. I think it’s a testament to him and his attitude and the way he plays football …

“That was a fun one to be a part of.”

(Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

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