The San Francisco 49ers may be disappointed by Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but there was one bright spot—quarterback Mac Jones turned in another standout performance. Despite one interception, Jones completed 33 of 39 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the 42-26 defeat.
Jones' 84.6% completion rate was the highest by a 49ers quarterback with 30 or more completions in a single game, surpassing Jeff Garcia (36-of-44, 81.8%, vs. Chicago in 2000) and Steve Young (33-of-41, 80.5%, at Washington in 1996).
Through eight starts this season, Jones has thrown for 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions while posting a career-high 97.4 passer rating.
One of the players tasked with protecting him, right tackle Colton McKivitz, joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Tuesday to share a personal scouting report on the 49ers' current starting quarterback—who's been filling in for the injured Brock Purdy.
"Mac's kind of a goofy guy," McKivitz admitted—a sentiment echoed by several teammates and reporters in recent months.
"That's kind of the consensus in the locker room," he continued. "But when you put him on the field, he's tougher than heck. Obviously, you see him holding his knee or falling down, and he gets up and gets back in."
Tight end George Kittle also chimed in recently, joking about Jones' tendency to be overly dramatic when it comes to hits during games.
"I think he's doing it intentionally now," Kittle said jokingly. "I think that's kind of what it seems like. He's just getting mildly banged up on purpose because it looks cool."
McKivitz, however, praised Jones' ability to make the most of his opportunity.
"He's just having fun with it," McKivitz said. "To come from where he was drafted, and then the places he's been, and lose, and then to come into a role like this, and to back up, and just kind of play free and have fun with it.
"Obviously, the connection you see he has with K.B. (WR Kendrick Bourne) and our receivers, and just loves playing ball. And obviously, like you said, it's the highest Niner percentage over 30 passes. The guy's playing really well right now."
As for Brock Purdy, who continues to recover from a turf toe injury, McKivitz offered an update.
"All I know is he's just trying to get back to as close to healthy as possible, to where he can trust it and play at—not 100%—but as close as he can get to playing on it," McKivitz explained. "And obviously, it's frustrating. You sign, you come out Week 1, we beat Seattle up there, and then, he fights through the injury to win that game at the end.
"But it's a long NFL season. We're just barely halfway over, so for him to trust it and be ready to rock, whenever he does come back, we're just going to pick up right where we left off. So, for him to be confident in it, and play well, I think that's what he's trying to get back to."
We'll see if Purdy can make it back on the field this weekend against the Arizona Cardinals, or if it will be Mac Jones again for the 49ers.
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