The San Francisco 49ers seem to be doing just fine without Brock Purdy.
Mac Jones led the 49ers to a late 16-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon, thanks to a game-winning 35-yard field-goal from Eddie Pineiro as time expired. That pushed them to a perfect 3-0, two wins of which have come without their starting quarterback.
The Cardinals took the lead late on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, and even jumped up by two points after picking up a safety following a Trey McBride touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. But, after shutting down the Cardinals almost immediately, Jones orchestrated a quick 10-play, 63-yard drive to set up Pineiro’s final field goal.
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Christian McCaffrey did a bulk of the work on that drive, including hauling in a 20-yard screen pass that got the 49ers into the red zone. He finished with 51 rushing yards on 17 carries, but had another 88 receiving yards on 10 catches. Only Ricky Pearsall did better through the air with his 117 receiving yards, a huge chunk of which came on a deep pass from Jones on a fourth down early in the fourth quarter. That set up a short toss to Kyle Juszczyk, which put them in the lead at the time.
Jones replaced Purdy after their season-opening win over the Seattle Seahawks, which left Purdy dealing with both a shoulder and a toe injury. The latter was reportedly the more significant one, though it’s unclear how long Purdy will be sidelined. He was considered questionable in the days leading up to Sunday’s contest, but the team ruled him out ahead of time.
Jones led the 49ers past the Saints last week while throwing three touchdowns, which matched his career-high, in that win. He went 27-of-41 for 284 yards with a touchdown and an interception in Sunday’s win. The interception came at a terrible time, too, and nearly ruined the 49ers’ chances at a win. The pick was the first of Dadrion Taylor-Demerson’s career.
Kyler Murray went 22-of-35 for 159 yards with a touchdown in the loss for the Cardinals. Trey Benson led them on the ground with 42 yards, and Marvin Harrison Jr. had 44 yards on three catches. The Cardinals lost running back James Conner in the second half to a brutal ankle injury, too. He had to be carted off, and was quickly ruled out.
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Purdy will almost certainly get his job back eventually, if not incredibly soon, in San Francisco. But in the meantime, Jones seems more than comfortable filling in for him and keeping the 49ers on track. The former New England Patriots starter clearly still has that in him.