49ers Notebook: Warner, Bosa, Huff make huge plays late; Offense shines on key late first-half drive; Jauan makes a splash

Mac Jones may have been the main story for the San Francisco 49ers in their 26-21 win over the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday, but there were a number of others who made big plays when it counted as well.

Jones (26/39, 279 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions) ran the show on offense in fine fashion while filling in for the injured Brock Purdy (toe). But even though Jones helped build a 26-14 fourth quarter lead, the 49ers needed their defense to step up in the end in order to keep the Saints from a comeback victory.

The defense did exactly that, as we're going to discuss in this version of 49ers Notebook. Plus we'll look back at a big moment in the first half, as well as wide receiver Jauan Jennings' first major highlight moment of the year. Let's get into it...

Fred Warner's Peanut Punch

After holding the Seattle Seahawks largely in check during their Week 1 win, the 49ers' defense will find plenty of things to clean up when watching tape of their win over the Saints. But one area where they stood tall was making clutch plays, starting with a huge forced fumble caused by linebacker Fred Warner.

The play came during a late third-quarter drive that saw the Saints advance to the 49ers' 30-yard line. On a 2nd-and-4, Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler completed a pass to running back Alvin Kamara, who secured the ball against his helmet. Warner punched the ball from Kamara's hand as Kamara was being brought to the ground by safety Ji'Ayir Brown, but Kamara was ruled at first to be down by contact. Upon review, Warner was ruled to have punched the ball out just before Kamara was down, which led to Warner recovering the fumble to give the 49ers possession at their own 32.

The fumble led to a touchdown drive from the 49ers, giving them a 26-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

"That was the turning point in the game right there," 49ers running back Brian Robinson said Sunday. "Excellent play by him."

Warner told reporters Sunday he had expected such an opportunity to come his way, and when it happened, he delivered.

"All day they wanted to get 41 in the flat with space," Warner said of Kamara, who finished with 99 yards on 21 carries. "He's such a talented player with space, and you saw today with some of the tackles that he was breaking. But I think Tig (Brown) did a great job of getting out there and wrapping him up."

"I mean, the dude is crazy," Warner continued. "He had the ball way up here, so I came in thinking I'm gonna catch the ball when it flies off his head. Then last minute as I was as I'm arriving -- you know, there were moments in that drive prior where you see it on the tape, I'm trying my hardest to find an (opportunity) and I told those guys, 'Bro, it's coming. Just give me an op.' And then that was the moment. Time just kind of slowed down. I was able to punch it out and I knew for a fact he was still up, so I'm like, hey, we got it."

Warner said he didn't tell head coach Kyle Shanahan to challenge the play, but he was confident he knocked the ball free before Kamara was down.

"No, I did not tell Kyle," Warner said. "Kyle, he makes all the decisions, right? But I knew for a fact they didn't show it on the big screen for a reason. So I'm like, 'Hey, we got to we got to see that thing one time, right?' So it was good."

Warner has developed a knack for forced fumbles, having caused four each of the past two seasons. Getting another one came as no surprise to his teammates, who find themselves catching Warner's fists on a regular basis in practice.

"The way he practices, he practices that all the time," wide receiver Ricky Pearsall said. "All these guys have got bruises on their arms after practice against Fred because he's punching for the ball every time."

The pass rush steps up

Warner's fumble was the first of three big moments delivered by the defense in the second half. The second two came from the pass rush, which once again came through with the game on the line like they did against the Seahawks in Week 1.

The Saints scored a touchdown to cut the 49ers' lead to 26-21 earlier in the fourth quarter, then after a 49ers punt, the Saints had the ball deep in their own territory with over four minutes remaining. But they were held to a three-and-out when defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams brought pressure and Bosa got through for the sack.

For Bosa, it was the second huge late-game sack in two games after he caused a strip sack to seal a 17-13 win over the Seahawks.

"In the past, it seems like we've found a way to lose and two games like this, dogfights to start the year and just closing it on defense, there's no better feeling," Bosa said Sunday.

The 49ers weren't able to run the clock out after the sack, which meant the defense had to step up one more time. It happened in similar fashion to Week 1, although this time it was defensive end Bryce Huff, who made a fourth down strip sack on Rattler to finish off the Saints.

"I feel like we saved our best rush for the end and I kicked inside and rushed the guard and I just saw the ball flailing around, so it was good," Bosa said. "Happy for Huff."

Bosa told reporters Sunday that he feels Huff was being used wrong by the Philadelphia Eagles, who traded him to the 49ers during the preseason. The 49ers are hoping to help Huff return to the form that led him to a 10-sack season with the New York Jets in 2023.

"He's a hand in the ground player," Bosa said. "He's not an outside backer, and he could rush like anybody in the league, and we knew that. Obviously, (defensive coordinator Robert Saleh) knew that. And I'm really happy to have him. I'm happy for him. His time in Philly, obviously winning a Super Bowl is great, but I don't think they utilized him great. So it's kind of a resurgence for him and I'm excited to see where it goes."

Shanahan gave praise to both Bosa and Huff in his postgame press conference.

"That's what separates those guys," Shanahan said. "I mean, there's not many people who coaches will call 'closers' or people like that. Those are two that are closers. Um, it was an awesome job them doing it. Bosa closed it last week on a sack fumble and then Huff closed it this week. So, two big-time plays by those guys."

Late half heroics

Sunday started to feel like it would be the 49ers' day when Jones led them on a nine-play, 77-yard drive late in the second quarter to take a 16-7 lead over the Saints just before the end of the half. The Saints scored their first touchdown of the game on the previous possession, seemingly taking momentum as the half neared a close. But the 49ers marched downfield in just over a minute and opened their lead to 16-7 on a seven-yard touchdown pass to running back Christian McCaffrey with seven seconds remaining.

The drive was a near-perfect execution of the two-minute offense, and it was done with a backup quarterback, a catch from a recently-signed wide receiver (Kendrick Bourne), and a rookie at guard in Connor Colby, who entered the game when starter Ben Bartch left with an ankle injury.

"That was a huge drive," McCaffrey said after the win. "Our offense is complicated, and the two-minute can be complicated too. So for new guys all over the field to come in and execute that way, that was really cool. And I'll have to go back and look at the tape because sometimes you forget what new guys were in there, but a guy like Kendrick Bourne who just recently got here. We had a new guy at left guard. New guys all over the field who when they come in and you can execute, that's rare. That doesn't happen everywhere."

The touchdown was the first of the season for McCaffrey, who after an injury-shortened 2024 season had not scored a touchdown since 2023.

"Love to get (in the end zone a lot more)," McCaffrey said. "But no, I'm just so happy to be playing on this team and feeling good."

Third and Jauan returns

After missing the preseason with a calf injury and a contract dispute, Jauan Jennings had a slow start to the season with just two catches for 16 yards against the Seahawks. But he looked to be back in form against the Saints, with five catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.

The touchdown was a 42-yard strike on 3rd-and-11 that put the 49ers up 26-14. Jones found Jennings wide open on the play, then Jennings ran 25 more yards untouched into the end zone.

"That's one of Kyle's favorite plays and we always have it in the game plan," Jones said. "And they gave us a different look than what we were kind of thinking. And Jauan just had a drive by and just caught it. I just looked to the left a little bit, moved the backer and then threw it. And then he took it to the house. He did a great job."

Jennings, who has developed a reputation for coming through on third down, didn't expect the ball to come his way at first. But when it did, he delivered.

"I would say a normal routine play that we run a lot," Jennings said. "It was a cover two, and in my mind I wouldn't think I was going to get the ball because the backer dropped and got depth, but Mac ripped it and a beautiful ball and got into the end zone."