NEW ORLEANS – Here is how the 49ers (2-0) graded in Sunday’s 26-21 win against the Saints (0-2) at the Caesars Superdome:
PASS OFFENSE: B
Mac Jones settled down and threw for 279 yards (26-of-39) with three touchdown passes (each on third-down), no interceptions and one lost fumble while filling in for the injured Brock Purdy. With George Kittle on injured reserve and Brandon Aiyuk another month away from his debut, the 49ers got clutch production from Jauan Jennings (five catches, 89 yards, 42-yard winning touchdown), Ricky Pearsall (catches of 15, 14 and 13 yards before halftime) and Christian McCaffrey (team-high six receptions, 52 yards, touchdown). Overlooked was Luke Farrell’s first career touchdown (11 yards) that provided a 6-0 lead. Jones was sacked three times but had above-average protection for what was not a quick trigger.
RUN OFFENSE: B-
The 49ers entrusted Jones to lead a pass-oriented attack while the Saints obviously expected to see a lot of McCaffrey, who had 13 carries for 55 yards, the longest of which was a 10-yard gain. Brian Robinson Jr. had 20 yards (six carries), and Jones had a 13-yard scramble on the opening touchdown drive. Losing Kyle Juszczyk to a concussion in the second quarter impacted the 49ers’ game plan as he was also set to help cover for Kittle’s absence.
Also exiting early was left guard Ben Bartch (ankle), and rookie Connor Colby filled in alright.
PASS DEFENSE: B
Bryce Huff rushed in for a fourth-down strip sack on the Saints’ final snap to secure the victory. On the previous play, Fred Warner made a fantastic pass breakup after six consecutive short completions on that drive. On the previous series, Nick Bosa looked to have secured the win with a third-down sack, but over three minutes remained for more drama. Third-down penalties on rookies Upton Stout and Marques Sigle fueled the Saints’ final touchdown drive that made it a one-score game with 6:18 to go. Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler fell to 0-8 as a starter, but he threw three touchdown passes and was victimized by four drops. Through two games, the 49ers have no interceptions against 57 pass attempts.
RUN DEFENSE: B+
Warner registered a team-high 11 tackles to go along with his pass defense, forced fumble and fumble recovery. Bosa (nine tackles) and Dee Winters (eight) were also stout. Alvin Kamara was held under 100 yards – he had 99 yards on 21 carries, but did not score on any of them, nor on his six catches (21 yards).
SPECIAL TEAMS: B
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It all started with a familiar sight: New kicker Eddy Piñeiro debuted with a missed point-after kick, but he did recover to make his two field-goal attempts (44 and 46 yards). Former Saints punter Thomas Morstead twice pinned his former team deep in its own territory in need of a touchdown drive. The 49ers aren’t getting much out of their returners: Skyy Moore had a 1-yard punt return near the sideline, and Isaac Guerendo averaged 23.5 yards on two kick returns.
COACHING: A-
Mock Kyle Shanahan all you want for opening the game with three Jones passes (incompletions) but the 49ers eventually got three touchdown passes from him as Purdy’s understudy. All in all, the 49ers avoided fully collapsing to a very bad team amid a 49ers Faithful takeover of the Superdome. “In the past, it seems we’d find a way to lose,” Bosa said. Instead, the 49ers became the first team to start 2-0 with two different quarterbacks since the 2016 Minnesota Vikings.
