NEW ORLEANS – The 49ers are 2-0 for the fourth time in seven seasons, and although this undermanned version doesn’t look like world beaters, they outlasted the Saints 26-21 Sunday.
It was a wild ride with Mac Jones debuting in place of an injured Brock Purdy, but Jones threw three touchdown passes, the final one being a 42-yard strike to Jauan Jennings on third down for the eventual winning points.
A week after opening with a 17-13 win at Seattle, the 49ers defense had its ups and downs, but it never relinquished the lead, and like Week 1, a strip-sack fumble secured the victory.
It all went down at the historic Superdome, which turned into the “Red Room” with red-clad 49ers fans accounting for more than half of the 70,078 crowd.
It wasn’t over until a last-minute stop by the 49ers. On fourth-and-1 from their own 42, Bryce Huff created a strip-sack fumble of Spencer Rattler, a week after Nick Bosa had similar strip-sack heroics in Seattle.
Three hours after it began, Jones took a knee in victory formation, capping his successful debut (26-of-39, 279 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, one fumble).
It was a Saints fumble that helped shift the momentum back to the 49ers just before the fourth quarter. Coach Kyle Shanahan successfully won an appeal and officials ruled Fred Warner forced a fumble on an Alvin Kamara catch in 49ers territory, thwarting a potential go-ahead scoring drive by the Saints.
The 49ers converted that takeaway into a double-digit lead. That ensuing drive ended once Jones hit Jennings in stride at the 25-yard line, and Jennings took his third-down prize into the end zone before racing to celebrate with 49ers fans.
The Saints responded with Rattler’s third touchdown pass of the game, cutting the 49ers’ lead to 26-21 with 6:18 remaining.
The 49ers couldn’t run out the clock, though. Jones tried recreating third-down magic with Jennings, but the receiver couldn’t haul in a pass at the Saints’ 25-yard line. No matter, a minute later, the Saints went three-and-out, with Week 1 hero Nick Bosa coming through again with a sack, this time on third down at the New Orleans 10-yard line with 3 1/2 minutes to go.
The 49ers’ offense, however, went 3-and-out also, and the Saints’ last-gasp drive would start at their 6-yard line with 2:40 remaining. Rattler dinked and dunked them up to the 42-yard line, but Warner made a third-down pass breakup, then Huff blasted in from left defensive end to force Rattler’s fourth-down fumble that ended New Orleans’ comeback bid.
That the Saints (0-2) threatened the 49ers was remarkable considering their rebuilding state under first-year coach Kellen Moore. They own the longest Super Bowl LX odds (500-to-1) at the casino down Poydras Street. Their quarterback, Rattler, has yet to win in eight career starts. His receivers had three drops by halftime, including Chris Olave missing a potential touchdown on the opening series. Defensive penalties kept many a Niners drive alive.
Already playing without Purdy (toe) and tight end George Kittle (hamstring; injured reserve), the 49ers lost two other offensive starters by the second quarter: fullback Kyle Juszczyk (concussion) and left guard Ben Bartch (ankle).
The 49ers’ 16-7 halftime lead was cut to 16-14 after the Saints converted a Jones strip-sack into a touchdown drive.
Jones’ penchant for holding onto the ball led to a strip-sack fumble on the opening series after halftime, with Chris Rumph initially blocked well by Colton McKivitz before hitting Jones as he was about to throw near midfield.
That turnover sparked a Saints’ comeback and a touchdown drive, capped by Rattler’s 3-yard scoring strike to Rashid Shaheed past safety Jason Pinnock (and a six-man defensive-line front). Rattler earlier converted on a fourth-down keeper by slipping past Upton Stout.
The 49ers scratched back with a 46-yard field goal from Eddy Pineiro (on fourth-and-2) to lurch ahead 19-14 with 3:20 left in the third quarter. It was Pineiro’s second field goal of the day in his debut, after opening with a missed point-after kick.
A more decisive fumble came later in the third quarter, when Warner punched the ball free just after Kamara secured a catch at the 49ers’ 29-yard line. That takeaway atoned for a 49ers gaffe earlier in the drive, when Dee Winters hit Saints quarterback Rattler late and into the 49ers’ bench.
Jones overcame frantic moments early (0-for-3 on first drive) and phenomenally engineered a last-minute touchdown drive before halftime. He was 7-of-9 for 77 yards on that 1-minute, 7-second scoring drive, capped by a 7-yard touchdown toss to Christian McCaffrey. Jennings had receptions of 13 and 29 yards to supercharge the drive into scoring range. Before that drive, Jones was just 8-of-14 for 74 yards.
Putting an exclamation mark on their 16-7 halftime lead, Warner and Stout combined on a tackle for loss to end the half and lead a spirited charge into the locker room tunnel.
Luke Farrell, starting in place of the injured Kittle, put the 49ers ahead 6-0 with an 11-yard touchdown on a third-and-1, play-action fake by Jones.
Wait, 6-0? Yes, Pineiro’s initial kick for the 49ers went wide right on a point-after attempt, carrying over the errant ways that doomed his predecessor, Jake Moody, to the waiver wire. Pineiro rebounded to make a 44-yard field goal on the 49ers’ next drive for a 9-0 lead 11:23 before halftime.
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The 49ers’ first scoring drive saw Jones & Co. cover 80 yards on 14 plays, highlighted by a third-and-14 completion to Ricky Pearsall and a 13-yard scramble by Jones.
Jones opened with incompletions on the 49ers’ first three snaps.
The 49ers’ shutout bid ended 1:20 before halftime, when Rattler beat their blitz and completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson at the left pylon against safety Marques Sigle.
New Orleans nearly scored on its opening drive, but that ended with a missed field goal (40 yards) after Chris Olave dropped a potential touchdown catch. Olave had beaten Renardo Green, who two snaps earlier allowed a 39-yard catch to Shaheed.
