Before Mac Jones’s stellar performance in the San Francisco 49ers’ 26-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, October 2, the quarterback had quite a memorable start to his day.
According to a report by The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Jones, 27, told his teammates that he saw a floating dead body when he was looking out on the water from his balcony at the team hotel in Marina del Rey, California.
The police were notified and, as the players were loading up onto the bus on the way to the game at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium, they reportedly saw investigators and a coroner’s van at the marina.
As of Friday, October 3, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said the incident is still under investigation.
Despite the startling distraction, and his injured knee and cramping throughout the game, Jones threw for 342 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions to lead his team to a crucial overtime win over their divisional opponent.
“Definitely a lot of things happened, but I feel good,” Jones told reporters after the game. “Just working through some stuff. I was able to play, so that’s all that matters. If I can protect myself, then it’s my job to be out there.”
Jones added, “The guys on the team really had my back. We talked all week about how tough we had to be for four quarters, and it really came down to who was going to be the toughest team and I believe it was us, and we have to continue to do that to win.”
Thursday marked Jones’s third start of the season after 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy went down with an injury on September 7 against the Seattle Seahawks. Purdy’s status is still up in the air for next week’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday October 12.
“They brought me here to play as a backup and that’s my job,” Jones said. “I’m just trying to get some wins for [Purdy] so it helps us down the line. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. I’ve been in his position, I’ve been a starter, and you want your backup to go in there and win because at the end of the season that could be hit or miss between the playoffs or not.”
Jones signed a two-year, $7 million contract with the 49ers in March. He was selected No. 15 overall by the New England Patriots in 2021, where he spent his first three seasons. Jones appeared in 10 games last season for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The quarterback earned praise from teammates and his head coach, Kyle Shanahan, after the gutsy performance.
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“I was real impressed,” Shanahan told reporters. “He played his ass off, man. He was unbelievable in the first half. He got banged up there in the second half and battled through it. He protected the ball and, going against that defense and throwing the ball that many times, not having a turnover and protecting the ball like he did, I can’t say enough good things about Mac.”
“He’s an absolute warrior,” said star running back Christian McCaffrey. “He’s a leader. He’s someone we can all get behind, for sure. It’s a testament to his attitude and the way he plays football.”
The 49ers sit at 4-1 on the season despite some key injuries including big-name players such as Nick Bosa, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings.
