With Brock Purdy Still Hurting, Mac Jones Quietly Turns Into the 49ers’ Unexpected Lifeline.QQ

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – After the San Francisco 49ers’ best offensive performance of the season, head coach Kyle Shanahan said aloud what has become quietly obvious with each passing week.

Brock Purdy, who missed his seventh game of the season, will probably never be truly healthy this season.

“We’re trying to ease Brock out there into practice,” Shanahan said Sunday after the 49ers’ 34-24 win over the New York Giants. “But anytime you’re dealing with turf toe, it’s probably something that won’t fully go away all year. Regardless of when he comes back, he’ll always deal with it. It’s really about assessing when’s the best time to come back that he’ll have to deal with the least.

“It’s a little bit of a tricky decision.”

The decision really didn’t feel that tricky on Sunday. Not on the problematic Metlife Stadium plastic turf that once – in 2020 – swallowed the 49ers’ dreams and season whole with multiple injuries, not least to Nick Bosa and Jimmy Garoppolo. The field struck again Sunday, when prized rookie defensive lineman Mykel Williams went down late in the game with what seems likely to be a season-ending ACL injury.

After spending most of the week saying that Purdy could possibly be active for the game, Shanahan conceded that Purdy “wasn’t that close.” He was inactive on Sunday, not even available to be the emergency backup.

But the 49ers didn’t miss a beat. Because, once again, Mac Jones came to the rescue.

Sunday’s game was a “legacy” game for the New York Giants, with 1980s-era uniforms and end-zone signage, conjuring up memories of when the Giants and 49ers had one of the fiercest, most competitive rivalries in football.

Perhaps inspired by that tribute, Jones channeled his inner Joe Montana. He came out red hot, completing 14 of 14 passes in the first half. He finished the day with a 135.2 quarterback rating, throwing for 235 yards and two touchdowns and distributing the ball to eight receivers.

“He’s first-round talent for a reason, and we’re just really, really blessed to have him,” said tackle Trent Williams. “You lose your franchise quarterback and your No. 2 comes in and you don’t miss a beat. We’re super, super lucky to have him.”

Jones is 5-2 as the 49ers’ starter and a huge reason this season hasn’t gone sideways. The team is now 6-3 and right in thick of the NFC playoff chase. Jones was well aware of how pivotal Sunday’s game was.

“This is a big one,” Jones said. “Having played five years in the NFL now, you really have to look at this game as like a playoff game, almost, and I feel like we answered the bell. … The challenge is don’t be complacent.”

The goal, especially after last week’s stagnant offensive performance in Houston, was to start fast. Jones did that, but he didn’t know exactly how fast he had started, without a first-half incompletion.

“No, was I supposed to?” Jones said.

Jones said the weekly “will he or won’t he?” talk about Purdy doesn’t affect his preparation.

“I’ve been fortunate to play both roles, starter and backup, in this league,” Jones said. “So I understand what I need to do to get ready to play. Really, it’s about my health and my body and just trying to get back to 100% for myself. I know Brock’s working hard, and he’s done a great job every week helping me get ready and that’s all you can ask.”

Purdy, who has had to carry around the Mr. Irrelevant tag since entering the league as the last player drafted in 2022, truly has become somewhat irrelevant this season. He played in the opener against Seattle and was injured, then was rushed back too soon in Week 4 against Jacksonville and hasn’t played since. As Shanahan said, turf toes are known to linger all season. For the moment, Purdy’s just another guy on the sideline in team sweats, albeit one with a lot of input for the guy who has taken over his job.

That close working relationship extends beyond Purdy and Jones, to backup Adrian Martinez. Jones made sure that Martinez got his first regular-season snap, for the final kneeldown Sunday.

“Kyle had already taken his headset off and I subbed myself out and said, ‘Come on Adrian,'” Jones said. “I think Adrian was going to go in either way. … Once we were taking a knee I definitely wanted Adrian to be there. He’s been awesome. … He’s a good friend of mine.”

That kind of easygoing team spirit has helped endear Jones to the 49ers. And the 49ers have given Jones, now on his third team, a new career.

“I’m pretty confident in myself,” Jones said. “I just believe in myself and believe in Kyle and in the system here. The guys just let me be myself, which is kind of different than what I’ve had in the past. So I appreciate that.”

Williams called Jones a “warrior.”

“You just don’t find quarterbacks that are built that tough,” Williams said.

George Kittle has dubbed Jones “an honorary tight end.”

“He has that juice, that energy, that kind of free-flowing love,” Kittle said. We’re a very supportive team, a very inclusive team. … Mac fits in perfectly with our locker room.

“He’s helped our team tremendously. And if he feels he gets to be himself more with us that makes you extremely happy. When people are allowed to be themselves that’s when they’re at their best.”

The 49ers might not be at their very best but they appear to be positioned well as they head into the final eight games of the season. Despite their alarming number of injuries, they are surviving.

Jones is a huge reason the 49ers are in such good shape. And why they have the luxury of not trying to rush Purdy back onto the field. It might only be halfway through the season, but Jones is the 49ers’ MVP.