#san-francisco-49ers

#san-francisco-49ers

Boys have played it for 100 years, but football, at its root was made for girls,

PASS OFFENSE: C- Mac Jones, already battered through three starts, was sacked six times and intercepted twice but threw for 347 yards with a sore oblique and knee. Coach Kyle Shanahan didn't blame Jones for getting intercepted on the opening possession's third down, seeing how Kendrick Bourne apparently turned the wrong way on his route. Bourne, to his growing credit, did rack up 142 yards for a second straight game.

The strangeness of the 2025 Niners is just getting started, but somewhere between a quarter and a third of the way through the season, this felt an appropriate time to review some of my preseason predictions. And while excuse me while I pat myself on the back I nailed a few of them, there are a few others that I wish I could have back. We deal in facts here, and the facts are forcing a few painful mea culpas.

By virtue of a 4-1 overall record and 4-0 mark against NFC teams, the 49ers sit atop the conference for the first time since the 2023 season. That conference mark is a key tiebreaker come January's playoff seeding, after sizing up head-to-head battles, divisional games, and common opponents. Other 4-1 NFC teams are the 49ers' hosts this Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1 NFC), as well as the Philadelphia Eagles (3-0) and the Detroit Lions (2-1).

The script is familiar. Fourth quarter or overtime. Rams trail or are tied. On comes Matthew Stafford. The veteran quarterback is the master of comebacks. And he appeared to be on the verge of doing it again on Thursday night against the rival San Francisco 49ers. But the 49ers stopped running back Kyren Williams on a fourth-and-one play at the 49ers' 11-yard line,

Brock Purdy and his troublesome toe are returning to the 49ers' bench. Mac Jones will start at quarterback as Purdy is sidelined for the third time in four games Thursday night when the 49ers (3-1) visit the Los Angeles Rams (3-1). Purdy will have company on the SoFi Stadium sideline: wide receivers Ricky Pearsall (knee), Jauan Jennings (ribs, ankle) and Jordan Watkins (calf) also got ruled out Wednesday.

There's simply not enough luck in the football world to overcome the kind of slop the Niners put on the field Sunday against the Jaguars. Four turnovers, a punt return allowed for a touchdown, and an offense that couldn't move the ball on the ground all combined into a 26-21 Jacksonville win at Levi's Stadium. The only good news for the 49ers? They won't have time to dwell on all their errors.

Several offensive players missed significant time. The 27-year-old tore his ACL and MCL against the Chiefs in a Week 7 loss. Brandon Aiyuk is on the PUP list to start the 2025 season. General manager John Lynch gave an update on Aiyuk's recovery timeline. While Brandon Aiyuk has not suffered a setback, Lynch said the WR is "not close" to returning from a knee injury.

The San Francisco 49ers moved to 2-0 after defeating the New Orleans Saints 26-21 on the road. New Orleans had a chance at taking the lead late, regaining possession with 2:40 left in the fourth quarter. However, while facing a fourth-and-1 on their own 42-yard-line, Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler was sacked, clinching the 49ers victory. Starting in place of Brock Purdy, San Francisco quarterback Mac Jones had 279 passing yards with three touchdowns.