Wide receiver Mike Evans finished Week 1 with six receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown on seven targets, helping the San Francisco 49ers beat their division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, 27-7 in Melbourne, Australia.

Evans' touchdown came in the third quarter and looked exactly like the type of play the 49ers brought him in to make. There was also some familiarity to the touchdown connection between Brock Purdy and Evans, as it looked much like the plays the duo had connected on throughout training camp.


But for 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, the play felt even more familiar.

"We've watched Mike do that for his whole career," Shanahan said after the game. "I've just never been on the team with him. I mean, he did that to us a ton when I was in Atlanta. Mike is as good as any receiver who's played down there."

Unfortunately, Evans missed some of training camp due to minor injuries. However, you couldn't tell by his performance at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. The chemistry between Purdy and Evans should only continue to develop as the season progresses.

"Hadn't got to work on it as much as we would like during training camp," Shanahan said. "It was something that we told them early on that we wanted them doing when they were in Tennessee working together (during the offseason).

"They were working on the side a little bit this week, and I said I want to give them more opportunities to get better at it, but they didn't need it today. They looked pretty good at it."


Evans may have—at least temporarily—quieted any skeptics who doubted his potential impact at age 33. He was asked about his first touchdown in red and gold and didn't hesitate to give credit where credit was due.

"Oh, Brock threw a great ball," Evans said. "We got the coverage we wanted, and we actually repped that a lot the last couple of weeks. So I was happy that that paid off and we were able to keep scoring after that."

One teammate who didn't doubt Evans would immediately improve the 49ers' offense is tackle Trent Williams, who shared his impressions of the receiver's first game with the team.

"Hall of Fame Mike," Williams said. "He made the plays like he normally do. He's a jump-ball extraordinaire. Those 50-50 balls are not really 50-50 [with Evans]. But it was definitely what we expected to see out of Mike. Just a pleasure to have him on the team."

The 49ers might need Evans to make many more big plays throughout the season with uncertainty surrounding promising rookie wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling, who was carted to the locker room after suffering an ankle injury. While the 49ers hope his injury isn't as bad as it appeared, it's unclear how much time he might miss.


"They checked his Achilles," Shanahan said. "They said that was intact, but they're not exactly sure of the magnitude of the ankle injury."

Evans made the kind of impact the 49ers envisioned when they signed him, providing Purdy with another reliable target and a proven weapon in the red zone.

Related News




Follow us on: X, Facebook, Threads, Instagram

Nobody's perfect. Did you find a mistake in this article? Report it.

Read Original Article
Visit 49ers Webzone

More San Francisco 49ers News