Mac Jones threw three touchdown passes in his San Francisco 49ers debut — including a 42-yard strike to Jauan Jennings that put the game away in the fourth quarter — as the 49ers beat the New Orleans Saints 26-21 at Caesars Superdome on September 14, 2025. Jones completed 26 of 39 passes for 279 yards with no interceptions, starting in place of Brock Purdy, who had been ruled out with a turf toe variant from the previous week’s game in Seattle.
Table of Contents
Final Score and Game Details
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Final
San Francisco 49ers (2-0)
6
10
3
7
26
New Orleans Saints (0-2)
0
7
7
7
21
Date
September 14, 2025
Kickoff
10:00 PM ET
Venue
Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Attendance
70,078
Broadcast
FOX
Referee
Shawn Smith
Scoring Summary
Qtr
Time
Team
Scoring Play
Drive
Score
1st
3:25
SF
Luke Farrell 11-yd pass from Mac Jones — Piñeiro PAT failed
14 plays, 80 yds, 7:56
SF 6 – NO 0
2nd
11:23
SF
Eddy Piñeiro 44-yd field goal
9 plays, 39 yds, 5:02
SF 9 – NO 0
2nd
1:14
NO
Juwan Johnson 18-yd pass from Spencer Rattler — Grupe kick
12 plays, 84 yds, 5:34
SF 9 – NO 7
2nd
0:07
SF
Christian McCaffrey 7-yd pass from Mac Jones — Piñeiro kick
9 plays, 77 yds, 1:07
SF 16 – NO 7
3rd
7:11
NO
Rashid Shaheed 3-yd pass from Spencer Rattler — Grupe kick
10 plays, 47 yds, 5:08
SF 16 – NO 14
3rd
3:20
SF
Eddy Piñeiro 46-yd field goal
8 plays, 49 yds, 3:51
SF 19 – NO 14
4th
12:18
SF
Jauan Jennings 42-yd pass from Mac Jones — Piñeiro kick
7 plays, 68 yds, 4:20
SF 26 – NO 14
4th
6:18
NO
Devaughn Vele 3-yd pass from Spencer Rattler — Grupe kick
13 plays, 71 yds, 6:00
SF 26 – NO 21
Bryce Huff’s sack on fourth down ended New Orleans’ final possession.
Passing Stats: Mac Jones and Spencer Rattler
Player
Team
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
QBR
RTG
Mac Jones
SF
26/39
279
7.2
3
0
3–12
68.0
113.1
Spencer Rattler
NO
25/34
207
6.1
3
0
3–21
53.3
118.1
Jones, in his 50th career NFL start, posted a 150.0 passer rating on throws between 10 and 19 yards downfield and 0.14 expected points added per play — 14th among NFL quarterbacks through two weeks of the 2025 season. His three scoring passes covered 11 yards to Farrell (Q1), 7 yards to McCaffrey (Q2), and 42 yards to Jennings (Q4). Rattler scored through Johnson (18 yards, Q2), Shaheed (3 yards, Q3), and Vele (3 yards, Q4), and fell to 0-8 in career starts despite zero interceptions.
Rushing Stats
San Francisco 49ers Rushing
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
Christian McCaffrey
13
55
4.2
0
10
Brian Robinson Jr.
6
20
3.3
0
7
Mac Jones
6
6
1.0
0
13
Ricky Pearsall
1
-4
-4.0
0
-4
Team
26
77
3.0
0
13
New Orleans Saints Rushing
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
Alvin Kamara
21
99
4.7
0
15
Spencer Rattler
4
14
3.5
0
9
Kendre Miller
5
8
1.6
0
6
Team
30
121
4.0
0
15
Kamara’s 99-yard rushing performance was offset by a fumble in San Francisco territory in the third quarter, ruled lost on replay review. McCaffrey combined for 107 yards and a touchdown on 19 touches — 13 rushes and 6 receptions.
Receiving Stats: San Francisco 49ers
Player
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
TGT
Jauan Jennings
5
89
17.8
1
42
10
Ricky Pearsall
4
56
14.0
0
15
6
Christian McCaffrey
6
52
8.7
1
14
7
Kendrick Bourne
3
32
10.7
0
13
3
Jake Tonges
4
31
7.8
0
11
5
Luke Farrell
2
15
7.5
1
11
3
Kyle Juszczyk
1
5
5.0
0
5
1
Brian Robinson Jr.
1
-1
-1.0
0
-1
1
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
0
—
—
0
—
1
Brayden Willis
0
—
—
0
—
1
Team
26
279
10.7
3
42
38
Jones distributed the ball to eight different receivers. Jennings averaged 17.8 yards per catch across five receptions. Farrell’s 11-yard touchdown reception was his first in the NFL.
Receiving Stats: New Orleans Saints
Player
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
TGT
Chris Olave
6
54
9.0
0
14
10
Rashid Shaheed
4
52
13.0
1
39
5
Juwan Johnson
5
49
9.8
1
18
9
Brandin Cooks
2
26
13.0
0
20
2
Alvin Kamara
6
21
3.5
0
6
6
Devaughn Vele
1
3
3.0
1
3
1
Kendre Miller
1
2
2.0
0
2
1
Team
25
207
8.3
3
39
34
Olave led New Orleans with six catches on 10 targets but did not score. On an early first-half possession, Rattler missed an open Olave in the end zone — the sequence ended with Grupe’s missed 40-yard field goal attempt.
Defensive Stats
San Francisco 49ers Defense
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Fred Warner
11
7
0
1
1
0
Nick Bosa
9
3
1
1
0
2
Dee Winters
8
6
0
0
0
0
Renardo Green
5
5
0
0
1
0
Upton Stout
5
4
1
1
0
1
Mykel Williams
5
4
0
2
0
0
Marques Sigle
5
2
0
0
0
0
Deommodore Lenoir
4
4
0
1
0
0
Bryce Huff
4
3
1
1
0
1
Jason Pinnock
3
2
0
0
0
0
Luke Gifford
3
0
0
0
0
0
Kalia Davis
2
1
0
0
0
0
Darrell Luter Jr.
2
1
0
0
0
0
Ji’Ayir Brown
2
1
0
0
1
0
Jordan Elliott
2
0
0
0
0
0
Alfred Collins
2
0
0
0
0
1
Yetur Gross-Matos
1
1
0
0
0
0
Chase Lucas
1
1
0
0
0
0
Tatum Bethune
1
1
0
0
0
0
Siran Neal
1
0
0
0
0
0
Sam Okuayinonu
1
0
0
0
0
0
Team
77
46
3
7
3
5
New Orleans Saints Defense
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Demario Davis
11
5
0
0
0
0
Jonas Sanker
8
5
0
0
0
0
Isaac Yiadom
7
6
0
1
0
0
Carl Granderson
7
5
2
3
0
3
Alontae Taylor
6
3
0
1
2
0
Justin Reid
5
5
0
0
1
0
Pete Werner
5
5
0
1
2
0
Vernon Broughton
3
0
0
0
0
0
Chris Rumph II
2
2
1
1
0
1
Nathan Shepherd
2
1
0
0
0
1
Cameron Jordan
1
1
0
0
0
0
Davon Godchaux
1
1
0
0
0
0
Quincy Riley
1
1
0
0
0
0
Kool-Aid McKinstry
1
1
0
0
0
0
Danny Stutsman
1
1
0
0
0
0
Bryan Bresee
0
0
0
0
1
1
Team
61
42
3
7
6
6
Special Teams Stats
Kicking
Player
Team
FG
PCT
LG
XP
PTS
Eddy Piñeiro
SF
2/2
100.0
46 yds
2/3
8
Blake Grupe
NO
0/1
0.0
—
3/3
3
Piñeiro made field goals from 44 and 46 yards. Grupe missed a 40-yard attempt in the first half; Piñeiro’s only miss was the extra point attempt following Farrell’s first-quarter touchdown.
Punting
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
TB
In 20
LG
Thomas Morstead
SF
4
173
43.3
0
2
49
Kai Kroeger
NO
4
171
42.8
1
1
52
Kick Returns
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
LG
TD
Isaac Guerendo
SF
2
47
23.5
25
0
Kendre Miller
NO
3
82
27.3
34
0
Punt Returns
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
LG
TD
Skyy Moore
SF
1
1
1.0
1
0
Rashid Shaheed
NO
2
23
11.5
19
0
Full Team Box Score
Stat
San Francisco 49ers
New Orleans Saints
Score
26
21
Total Yards
344
307
Total Plays
68
67
Yards per Play
5.1
4.6
Net Passing Yards
267
186
Completions/Attempts
26/39
25/34
Yards per Pass Attempt
6.4
5.0
Interceptions Thrown
0
0
Sacks – Yards Lost
3 – 12
3 – 21
Rushing Yards
77
121
Rushing Attempts
26
30
Yards per Rush
3.0
4.0
First Downs
23
21
Passing First Downs
15
12
Rushing First Downs
5
6
Penalty First Downs
3
3
3rd Down Efficiency
8/15 (53.3%)
4/11 (36.4%)
4th Down Efficiency
0/0
1/2
Red Zone (Made/Att)
2/2
3/3
Penalties
5 for 40 yds
7 for 45 yds
Turnovers
1
1
Fumbles Lost
1
1
Interceptions Thrown
0
0
Defensive/ST Touchdowns
0
0
Time of Possession
30:45
29:15
Net passing yards reflect sack yardage deducted from individual totals. Jones: 279 gross passing yards; Rattler: 207 gross passing yards.
Notable Absences
Player
Team
Injury
Game Status
Brock Purdy
SF
Turf toe variant (suffered Week 1 at Seattle)
Out — projected 2 to 5 weeks
George Kittle
SF
Hamstring
Out — injured reserve
Kyle Juszczyk
SF
Concussion
Left in first half, did not return
Ben Bartch
SF
High ankle sprain
Left game — expected to miss several weeks
Trevor Penning
NO
Foot
Out — second consecutive absence
Chase Young
NO
Calf
Out — second consecutive absence
The win gave San Francisco a 2-0 start for the fourth time since 2019, each instance coming by way of back-to-back road victories. The three prior campaigns that opened that way — 2019, 2021, and 2023 — all reached at minimum the NFC Championship Game, with two going on to the Super Bowl. New Orleans fell to 0-2 under first-year head coach Kellen Moore, having now lost both home openers by a touchdown or fewer with the ball and an opportunity to tie or take the lead in the final minutes of each game.
Bobby A. Smith is a Senior Sports Analyst with over nine years of professional experience, specializing in forensic analysis of game strategy and player performance.
His work provides a definitive lens on a broad spectrum of professional sports, delivering expert commentary on the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, Soccer, Boxing, Cricket, F1, and NASCAR. Unlike surface-level reporting, Bobby’s analysis is known for identifying the critical, game-deciding patterns that raw statistics often obscure. Every article is grounded in rigorous, fact-based research and an unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity.
