Browsing: 49ers

Former Alabama football head coach Nick Saban is “so happy” for his former player, ex-Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones, who has found great success with the San Francisco 49ers this season after a rough start to his NFL career with the New England Patriots.

Saban made his remarks on The Pat McAfee Show Friday (h/t Jordy McElroy of Patriots Wire).

“I’m so happy for Mac [Jones],” Saban said. “I think Mac was one of those guys who was in bad situations in New England relative to coaching and all that type of stuff, and who was the offensive coordinator, and how did he get developed when he came into the league. He hasn’t been in great circumstances. I think, right now, he is in a really good circumstance with Shanahan and their offense.”

After leading Alabama to the 2020 national championship, Jones went 15th overall in the 2021 NFL draft to the New England Patriots.

He was impressive in his first season, completing 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns (13 interceptions). The Pats finished sixth in scoring, won 10 games and made the playoffs, marking the only time the team has made the postseason in the five full campaigns since quarterback Tom Brady left in free agency for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Jones also made the Pro Bowl and even finished second in the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year race.

After the season, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach. Head coach Bill Belichick opted to replace McDaniels with a defensive coach (ex-Pats defensive coordinator Matt Patricia) and his former special teams coordinator, Joe Judge.

Jones regressed in every way in 2022, seeing his completion percentage (65.2), yards per attempt (6.8), TD-INT ratio (14:11) and quarterback rating (84.8) all go down.

It went from bad to worse in 2023. The Patriots as a whole hit rock bottom under Belichick, going 4-13 and finishing second-last in points per game. New England opted for another offensive playcalling change, going with ex-Pats offensive coordinator (and ex-Houston Texans head coach) Bill O’Brien.

Jones struggled again, throwing more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10) and getting benched for Bailey Zappe.

After the season, the Pats traded Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jones got a chance to start seven games in town after Trevor Lawrence suffered an AC joint sprain, but that was another tough spot for him as well with the team floundering (4-13) in head coach Doug Pederson’s final year. He completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 1,672 yards, eight touchdowns and eight picks.

Last March, Jones signed a two-year deal with the 49ers to be Brock Purdy’s backup. He’s been called into duty for three starts in five weeks with Purdy dealing with a toe injury that now has a week-to-week timeline.

Jones has flourished, leading the 49ers to three wins by completing 66.7 percent of his passes for 905 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.

He saved his best effort for Thursday against the heavily favored host Los Angeles Rams. The 49ers entered the game significantly shorthanded on offense due to injury, with notable absences including tight end George Kittle and wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings. Still, Jones dominated with 342 yards and two touchdowns to lead the 49ers to a 26-23 overtime win.

Jones could very well be in the lineup next week, when the 49ers visit the NFC South-leading Bucs for another pivotal matchup. Regardless, he’s found new life and taken advantage of his potential under head coach Kyle Shanahan, and the 49ers have benefitted greatly from his presence.

Source link

If you want to know what really fires up San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, tell him he’s an underdog going into a game against Sean McVay.

After the 49ers’ dramatic 26-23 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night, Mac Jones told reporters that Shanahan “was pissed” they entered the game as betting underdogs:

“Kyle came up to me, and he was pissed about it. He’s like, ‘Dude, I can’t believe they moved us to underdogs again,’ or like more [extreme underdogs] or whatever. And I’m like, ‘I don’t know what that means really, [but] like, yeah, let’s go kill them.’ He was pissed about it. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m pissed, too.'”

The line for the game wound up favoring the Rams by 8.5 points, per DraftKings Sportsbook (h/t Daniel Kohn of CBS Sports). It was initially a 1.5-point spread for the Rams, but the line moved significantly after the 49ers announced they would be without Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings.

That’s on top of the players San Francisco was already missing due to injuries, including George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Nick Bosa.

When you look at the list of players who were absent for the 49ers, it’s not hard to figure out why they were not only underdogs, but heavily favored to lose against a Rams team that has looked like one of the best teams in the NFC through the first four weeks.

However, history has shown that these 49ers-Rams matchups are going to be close even if the on-paper matchup looks lopsided for one side.

Since the start of the 2017 season, when Shanahan and McVay were both hired, the 49ers and Rams have played 18 times, including the playoffs. San Francisco holds an 11-7 edge, with 11 games being decided by eight points or fewer.

Shanahan’s unhappiness about being an underdog might also have something to do with his competitive and friendly rivalry with McVay. It’s been well documented over the years how close they are off the field, but they are also very intense when it comes to wanting to beat the other.

Both coaches were aggressively pursuing Matthew Stafford in a trade prior to the 2021 season, with the Rams being the one that pulled off the deal with the Detroit Lions.

After the Rams swept the season series between the NFC West rivals last season, the 49ers are off to a good start in 2025. Not only did they stun Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium, but they moved into sole possession of first place in the division with a 4-1 record.

Source link

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Kendrick Bourne caught 10 passes for 142 yards to help lead his team to a 26-23 overtime victory over the host Los Angeles Rams on Thursday evening.

This was an exceptional and clutch performance from the nine-year veteran, who not only matched a career-high in catches but eclipsed 100 receiving yards for the first time in his NFL tenure.

Much credit goes to Bourne for helping carrying the short-handed offense to a great day en route to a huge upset victory.

From a fantasy football standpoint, it’s possible people look at his performance and flock to the waiver wire to add him for Week 6 and beyond.

With respect to Bourne’s outing, that may not be the best decision.

There’s one reason that stands out over all else, and that’s the fact that reinforcements are on their way back to the field for the 49ers.

Before the game, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on the statuses of tight end George Kittle and wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings, all of whom missed the Rams game due to injury.

Kittle has notably been out since suffering a hamstring injury in a 17-13 season-opening win at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7. Pearsall (knee soreness) missed his first game of the year Thursday. Jennings (ribs and ankle injuries) sat his second game after also missing Week 3 (a 16-15 road win at the Arizona Cardinals).

Rapoport said that Kittle “had no setbacks, he is doing great.” He also added “there is a real chance he is back next week.”

In regards to Jennings and Pearsall, Rapoport said that both “could be back next week.”

The 49ers have some time before their next game, an Oct. 12 road matchup at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If Kittle, Jennings and Pearsall all return, it’s going to bump Bourne, who saw 11 targets, down the depth chart. Simply put, Jennings and Pearsall are the starters, with Bourne behind them.

Entering Thursday, Bourne had seen just 13 targets through three games (an average of 4.33 per contest), and that’s simply not enough for him to really be fantasy viable. One can surmise Bourne might be fifth at best in targets if running back Christian McCaffrey, Kittle, Jennings and Pearsall are all on the field.

Now, while Rapoport’s comments strongly implied a Kittle return, it’s possible Jennings and Pearsall miss the Bucs game, with Rapoport qualifying that they “could” be back. Still, based on those remarks, it seems like their returns are happening sooner rather than later.

On another note, this was the best game of Bourne’s career. He’s certainly carved out a nice career for himself in the league with the 49ers (2017-2020, 2025) and New England Patriots (2021-2024), catching 310 passes for 3,943 yards and 22 touchdowns. His career-best season was in 2021, when he caught 55 passes for 800 yards and five scores (with Mac Jones, his quarterback Thursday, as his signal-caller then).

While Bourne has fared well, his career hasn’t been filled with huge fantasy performances. Of course, in reality, he’s done well, but explosive, breakout games haven’t been the norm, perhaps giving more pause to a pickup on the waiver wire.

Ultimately, Bourne played a great game, one that helped the 49ers secure first in the NFC West. It was a gutsy performance for a team that’s weathered a host of injuries. From a fantasy standpoint, though, it’s hard seeing how Bourne gets nearly as many opportunities on a week-to-week basis if everyone is healthy.

If Bourne is called to duty again, then he’d certainly be a more viable option, but at the moment, with the 49ers potentially getting three pass-catchers back, other wide receivers may be better choices at this time.

Source link

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh had to be separated after the Jags’ 26-21 road win on Sunday.

The origin of the confrontation hasn’t been confirmed, but Saleh notably referenced a “legal” sign-stealing system run by Coen on Thursday as the two teams were gearing up to play each other on Sunday (2:50 mark).

“Liam Coen and his staff coming from Minnesota they got legally a really advanced signal stealing system where they always find a way to put themselves in an advantageous situation. They do a great job of it. They formation you to just try to find any nugget they can. We have to be great with our signals, be great with our communication to combat some of those tells we might give on the field.”

Coen was clearly upset at Saleh, even after his team just authored a fantastic upset over the favored (and previously undefeated) 49ers.

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about the confrontation afterward in his postgame press conference.

“I didn’t see what happened so I’m not sure, but [Coen] shouldn’t be so sensitive,” Shanahan said in part.

The Jags pulled off the upset thanks to big plays, including a 48-yard Travis Etienne Jr. touchdown run and a Parker Washington 87-yard punt return for a touchdown. San Francisco also committed four turnovers to Jacksonville’s zero.

Jacksonville will now host the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs on Monday, Oct. 6. Meanwhile, the 49ers have a quick turnaround to face the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday evening.

Source link

San Francisco 49ers star defensive end Nick Bosa reportedly will undergo season-ending surgery after suffering a torn ACL against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero noted that Bosa was seen giving a thumbs-down on the broadcast.

Losing Bosa is a huge blow to the 49ers’ defense. The former No. 2 overall pick has recorded 15 tackles, two sacks and four tackles for loss through two games this season and had two tackles before his injury on Sunday.

Bosa’s long-term injury only adds to a laundry list of ailments for the 49ers.

San Francisco came into the season knowing it would be without wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk for a while as he recovered from a torn ACL. The 49ers then lost George Kittle due to a hamstring injury in Week 1, and he’s currently on the injured reserve.

Quarterback Brock Purdy also missed Week 2 and is not playing against the Cardinals because of a toe injury. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings is also sidelined because of shoulder and ankle injuries.

Even with the various injuries, the 49ers came into Sunday’s matchup undefeated with wins over the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints, and they’re hoping to stay perfect against Arizona.

That task is much more difficult without Bosa, who recorded 52 tackles and nine sacks in 14 games last year.

Source link

Add another injury to the pile for the San Francisco 49ers.

Quarterback Mac Jones, already serving in relief duty for the injured Brock Purdy, told reporters after Sunday’s 16-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals that he reaggravated the same PCL sprain that hampered him during training camp.

“I had a little injury that I just re-aggravated,” Jones told reporters. “I’m good. I took the brace off because I wasn’t moving around very well, and then I put it back on after that. I felt like it affected my play a little bit, which I was disappointed about. … Anytime you’re fighting through stuff, I know everybody has my back. The offensive line did a great job this game keeping me clean for the most part. Just to be able to come together at the end and finish like we talked about on the sideline, like, ‘Hey, we got nothing to lose. Let’s go get it.’ The players made plays, so it was awesome, to be honest.”

Jones, 27, has been called upon in the past two weeks with Purdy sidelined and has responded, throwing for 563 yards, four touchdowns and an interception while taking four sacks and completing 66.3 percent of his passes. He had to do so on Sunday without key offensive playmakers like George Kittle, Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk, all out injured.

Granted, the hapless New Orleans Saints and the erratic Cardinals helped his cause in the two wins. But the Niners needed Jones to help keep them afloat the past two weeks and he more than fulfilled his duty, driving the team down the field in the final 1:46 to get into field goal range for the game-winning kick.

“I’ve failed a lot in that situation in the NFL, to be honest, and I just know the guys had my back,” he told reporters about that final drive. “And like we talked about on the sidelines, ‘Let’s go out there and rip it.’ One play at a time and erase everything that had happened. … I’ve had a lot of potential game-winning drives in my career, and a lot of quarterbacks have. I’ve done well in them, and I’ve done pretty bad in them, too, so I really was just motivated to change the narrative. And this team, I feel like they have my back.”

Jones handled his backup duties with aplomb. Now, however, the beat-up 49ers will be hoping to get Purdy and several other players back and healthy.

Source link

With all the injuries they’ve had to deal with, the San Francisco 49ers have plenty of excuses not to win games.

Yet somehow, they’re 3-0.

The 49ers stayed undefeated on Sunday after beating the Arizona Cardinals on a walk-off field goal from Eddy Pineiro.

After the game, fans applauded San Francisco’s all-around effort to keep its perfect season intact.

The 49ers came into the season without wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is recovering from a torn ACL, and the injuries have only piled on since then. Star tight end George Kittle is on the injured reserve with a hamstring injury, quarterback Brock Purdy has missed two games because of a toe injury and wide receiver Jauan Jennings was out on Sunday with a shoulder injury.

On top of all that, star defensive end Nick Bosa exited with a knee injury during Sunday’s game.

Though the 49ers look far from their best, the fact that they’re 3-0 is somewhat miraculous.

Much of the credit should go to Mac Jones, who has done an outstanding job under center with Purdy out. The former New England Patriots starter threw for 284 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, leading San Francisco’s game-winning drive.

With Jones leading the way on offense, others have stepped up on the other side of the ball, including Fred Warner, who had 11 tackles on Sunday.

The 49ers might not be able to compete for a Super Bowl with their current roster, but if they can stay alive in the playoff race long enough to get everyone healthy, their fully healthy roster might be a contender.

Source link

The San Francisco 49ers had to finish the end of their contest against the Arizona Cardinals without a key piece of the defense.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, star defensive end Nick Bosa was ruled out of the game after suffering a knee injury. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero noted that Bosa was seen giving a thumbs-down on the broadcast.

After the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the team believes Bosa has avoided an ACL injury, but is still getting tests done.

Losing Bosa for any amount of time would be a huge blow to the 49ers’ defense. The former No. 2 overall pick has recorded 15 tackles, two sacks and four tackles for loss through two games this season and had two tackles before his injury on Sunday.

If Bosa is dealing with a long-term injury, it would only add to a laundry list of ailments for the 49ers.

San Francisco came into the season knowing it would be without wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk for a while as he recovered from a torn ACL. The 49ers then lost George Kittle due to a hamstring injury in Week 1, and he’s currently on the injured reserve.

Quarterback Brock Purdy also missed Week 2 and is not playing against the Cardinals because of a toe injury. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings is also sidelined because of shoulder and ankle injuries.

Even with the various injuries, the 49ers came into Sunday’s matchup undefeated with wins over the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints, and they’re hoping to stay perfect against Arizona.

That task is much more difficult without Bosa, who recorded 52 tackles and nine sacks in 14 games last year.

Source link

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner plan to join teammate Christian McCaffrey for Fanatics’ flag…

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is “highly unlikely” to start but could still play in Sunday’s Week 3 matchup…