49ers ride big day from Mac Jones to 26-21 win in New Orleans

Getting their second consecutive road win to start the 2025 season was good enough news for the San Francisco 49ers. But even better news was the confirmation that they have a backup quarterback they can win games with for however long they need him to start.

Mac Jones, who started the game in place of injured starter Brock Purdy (toe), finished with 279 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions on 26-of-39 passing in a 26-21 win over the Saints at Ceasars Superdome in New Orleans. It remains uncertain when Purdy will return -- perhaps as soon as next week -- but the 49ers now have at least one win without him, thanks in large part to Jones... and a couple of clutch plays from their defense in the end that were needed to seal the deal.

The 49ers held a 26-14 lead early in the fourth quarter but had to fight off a late-game effort led by Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler to hold onto the win. Two late-game sacks helped stop the rally attempt from Rattler, who finished with 206 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-35 passing.

Strong first half from Jones leads 49ers to halftime lead

The Saints got off to a fast start, with Rattler connecting with wide receiver Rashid Shaheed for a 39-yard one-handed grab on the third play of the game. But after Rattler missed a wide open Chris Olave in the end zone on the ensuing second down, then missed him again for a possible conversion on third down, the Saints settled for a 40-yard field goal attempt from kicker Blake Grupe. The kick sailed wide right, giving the 49ers the ball at their own 30-yard line.

Jones threw three straight incompletions on the 49ers' first possession, leading to a punt from Thomas Morstead that was returned by Shaheed to the Saints' 40-yard line. A pair of runs from Alvin Kamara moved the Saints across midfield, but three more incompletions from Rattler forced the Saints to punt back to the 49ers.

The 49ers took over at their own 20-yard line after a touchback, then moved to midfield with the help of two Saints penalties and a 15-yard third down completion from Jones to wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. The 49ers moved inside the red zone from there on a series of runs and short passes, then on 3rd-and-1 from the 11-yard line, Jones found Luke Farrell for the first touchdown of the fifth-year tight end's career to cap a 14-play, 80-yard drive. But kicker Eddy Piñeiro, who was added to the roster after the team waived kicker Jake Moody last week, missed his first point-after attempt for the 49ers, leaving the score at 6-0 late in the first quarter.

Penalties and passing game issues continued to plague the Saints on their next possession. After taking over at their own 32-yard line, the Saints were driven back by a holding penalty on center Erik McCoy, then were stuck in a 3rd-and-18 after a dropped pass by tight end Juwan Johnson, his second of the first quarter. The Saints punted back to the 49ers after falling short on third down.

The 49ers took over at their own 35 and quickly moved into Saints' territory on a 10-yard run and a 7-yard run from Christian McCaffrey as the game moved into the second quarter. Completions to Pearsall and tight end Jake Tonges moved the ball inside the 30, but the drive stalled from there, setting up a 44-yard field goal from Piñeiro. This time the kick sailed through the uprights, giving the 49ers a 9-0 lead.

Offensive woes continued for the Saints on the next possession as a first-down sack by cornerback Upton Stout set the stage for an eventual three-and-out. The 49ers took over at their own 19, then moved across the 30 on a completion to Pearsall. The Saints stuffed the 49ers after that by tackling McCaffrey for no gain on the ensuing first down followed by a sack by defensive end Carl Granderson on second down, which eventually led to a punt after a third down incompletion from Jones.

An illegal block penalty on the punt committed by cornerback Isaac Yiadom pushed the starting point for the next Saints possession to their own 16, but from there they finally got their offense moving with a series of chunk plays to get the ball into 49ers' territory, including a 20-yard catch by wide receiver Brandin Cooks and a 15-yard run from Kamara. After Rattler broke a couple tackles on a third down run to give the Saints a first down at the 22-yard line while the clock moved to the two-minute warning, the Saints faced a 3rd-and-6 at the 18 with just over a minute remaining. Johnson then made up for his first quarter drops with an impressive touchdown grab over tight coverage by safety Marquis Sigle, capping a 12-play, 84-yard drive to cut the lead to 9-7.

The 49ers had 1:14 to work with after the touchdown, which turned out to be plenty of time to get them into position to add points before the half. After taking over at their own 23-yard line, completions of 13 yards and 29 yards to wide receiver Jauan Jennings moved the ball to the Saints' 31-yard line with 52 seconds left. Three more completions from Jones moved the ball to the 7-yard line with 11 seconds remaining, then the 49ers finished the drive with a touchdown pass from Jones to McCaffrey with seven seconds remaining. The point after from Piñeiro gave the 49ers a 16-7 lead, capping a nine-play, 77-yard drive.

After a slow start, Jones heated up to finish with 151 yards on 15-of-23 passing with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Rattler finished with 104 yards on 9-of-15 passing with one touchdown, while the 49ers produced 192 yards compared to 155 from the Saints. The 49ers were also flagged for no penalties in the first half, while the Saints were flagged five times for 40 yards.

49ers hold on in second half to avoid major letdown

The Saints appeared to have a three-and-out to start the first half, but an illegal use of hands penalty on cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry gave the 49ers a first down on a 3rd-and-13. The 49ers moved the ball near midfield, then the Saints produced the first turnover of the game when a strip sack by defensive end Chris Rumph was recovered by linebacker DeMario Davis at the 49ers' 47-yard line.

The Saints capitalized on the turnover with a 10-play, 47-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass from Rattler to Shaheed to cut the lead to 16-14. Rattler kept the drive alive with a fourth down run earlier in the possession, then found Shaheed from three yards out to bring the Saints back to within one score.

The 49ers responded with an eight-play, 49-yard drive that moved inside the Saints' 30 before Piñeiro added his second field goal of the day to open up a 19-14 lead. The drive opened with a 14-yard completion to Pearsall, then McCaffrey moved the ball to Saints territory with runs of seven and nine yards. After an 11-yard completion to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, the 49ers moved to the 28 before head coach Kyle Shanahan decided to give Piñeiro an opportunity from 46 yards out, which Piñeiro hit down the middle for his second field goal of the game with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter.

The next drive opened at the 35-yard line after a touchback, then a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness after linebacker Dee Winters hit Rattler late out of bounds moved the ball close to midfield. A 12-yard completion to Chris Olave moved the ball into 49ers territory, then the 49ers produced a takeaway of their own on a completion from Rattler to Kamara when linebacker Fred Warner punched the ball out of Kamara's arm for a fumble that was recovered by Warner. Kamara was originally ruled down with a completed catch before replay officials judged the play to be a catch and a fumble, giving the 49ers the ball at their own 32-yard line.

The 49ers moved the ball across midfield with a 14-yard catch followed by a 5-yard run from McCaffrey, but a holding penalty on tight end Jake Tonges moved the ball back across the 50 and set up a 2nd-and-15 to start the fourth quarter. A 5-yard completion to Tonges set up a 3rd-and-10, which was converted with a 13-yard completion to McCaffrey. After a McCaffrey run for no gain and a pass to running back Brian Robinson for a one-yard loss, the 49ers hit paydirt when Jones found Jennings wide open at the 25-yard line, after which Jennings ran untouched into the end zone for a 42-yard score. The point after from Piñeiro gave the 49ers a 26-14 early fourth quarter lead.

Penalties plagued the 49ers on the next possession. The 49ers appeared set to hold the Saints to a three-and-out, but an illegal contact penalty on Stout gave the Saints a first down on a 3rd-and-12. Then, after seemingly getting a stop on 3rd-and-5 at the 48-yard line, the 49ers were hit with a holding penalty on Sigle that gave the Saints a first down. The Saints turned the extra opportunities into a 13-play, 71-yard drive that was capped by a three-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Devaughn Vele, cutting the lead to 26-21 with just over six minutes remaining.

The 49ers started the next drive on their own 35-yard line after a touchback, then moved across the 50 after completions to Bourne and Jennings. But the Saints stopped the drive from there, forcing a punt to their own 11 with 4:35 left in the game. The 49ers then needed a stop from their defense, which hadn't been having the best second half. But they got the stop they needed, with the help of their ace defensive end Nick Bosa. After a short reception and a run for no gain from Kamara set up a 3rd-and-6, Bosa broke through for a sack, setting up a punt with just over three minutes remaining.

The 49ers took over in Saints territory after the punt but couldn't close things out, punting the ball back to the Saints after a three-and-out. The Saints took over at their own six-yard line with 2:40 remaining and one time out, then moved to the 42-yard line, where they faced a 4th-and-2 with 1:03 on the clock. Then it came time for another clutch play from the pass rush -- this one from defensive end Bryce Huff, who got to Rattler and forced a turnover on downs.

The 49ers ran out the clock from there to leave New Orleans with a 2-0 record to start the season. The Saints fell to 0-2 with the loss.

Game Notes

Sunday's game was the 80th all-time between the 49ers and Saints, who were once division rivals. The 49ers now hold a 51-27-1 edge in the series... The game marked the 50th start in the career of Mac Jones, who totaled a 20-29 record over his first four NFL seasons with the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars... 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk (concussion) and guard Ben Bartch (ankle) left the game due to injury... The 49ers will be back in action next Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, which will be the 49ers' first home game of the season. The game will kick off at 4:25 ET/1:25 PT on FOX.

Scoring Summary

• Q1 03:32 — SF 6, NO 0
  L. Farrell 11 yd. pass from M. Jones (kick failed, wr) (14 plays, 80 yds, 7:56)
• Q2 11:27 — SF 9, NO 0
  E. Pineiro 44 yd. Field Goal (9 plays, 39 yds, 5:02)
• Q2 01:20 — SF 9, NO 7
  J. Johnson 18 yd. pass from S. Rattler (B. Grupe kick) (12 plays, 84 yds, 5:34)
• Q2 00:11 — SF 16, NO 7
  C. McCaffrey 7 yd. pass from M. Jones (E. Pineiro kick) (9 plays, 77 yds, 1:07)
• Q3 07:15 — SF 16, NO 14
  R. Shaheed 3 yd. pass from S. Rattler (B. Grupe kick) (10 plays, 47 yds, 5:08)
• Q3 03:24 — SF 19, NO 14
  E. Pineiro 46 yd. Field Goal (8 plays, 49 yds, 3:51)
• Q4 12:26 — SF 26, NO 14
  J. Jennings 42 yd. pass from M. Jones (E. Pineiro kick) (7 plays, 68 yds, 4:20)
• Q4 06:21 — SF 26, NO 21
  D. Vele 3 yd. pass from S. Rattler (B. Grupe kick) (13 plays, 71 yds, 6:00)

Game and Player Stats