Mac Jones Says Brock Purdy Remains 49ers' QB1 Despite His Strong Play in Backup Role

Mac Jones is getting out ahead of any outside attempts to start a quarterback controversy after he led the San Francisco 49ers to a 26-23 overtime with over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Jones emphasized that Purdy is the "starter of this team" and will remain in that role when he eventually returns from a toe injury.

the wake of Jones' performance against the Rams, as well as his 3-0 record as a starter this season, there has been a little bubbling conversation about whether or not Kyle Shanahan should stick with him even when Purdy is healthy.

On a statistical level, it's fair to say that Jones has been the better quarterback. He has thrown for 905 yards with six touchdowns, one interception and a 66.7 completion percentage in three games.

Purdy has 586 passing yards, four touchdowns, four interceptions and a 65.8 completion percentage in two games. His stat line does come with some caveats because he injured his toe in Week 1, missed the next two games and returned in Week 4.

At some point during the 49ers' Week 4 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Purdy suffered a setback with his toe injury. It's unclear to know exactly when it happened, but his accuracy being off throughout the game suggests it was a problem.

Jones, who signed a two-year deal as a free agent in March, has done a good job of keeping the train on the tracks for a 49ers team that has been plagued by injuries on both sides of the ball so far this season.

Shanahan has also helped scheme up an offense to fit Jones' skill set. For instance, 37 of his 49 attempts against the Rams traveled fewer than 10 air yards.

That's right out of the Jimmy Garoppolo play book, which is something the 49ers originally tried to improve on when they drafted Trey Lance and ultimately succeeded when Purdy took over.

One reason the 49ers invested in Purdy with a long-term extension this past offseason is because he helped open up Shanahan's play book with his ability to attack down the field.

Even in the Week 1 game against the Seahawks when Purdy originally suffered the injury, he still had four completions of at least 20 air yards.

In fairness to Jones, the 49ers were also playing without Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings and George Kittle against the Rams. Their top three receivers were Kendrick Bourne, Demarcus Robinson and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

All of this is to suggest that Jones has been doing a great job of doing exactly what Shanahan and the 49ers need to keep their offense running. He has kept them afloat with three wins in his three starts, but the best version of this offense is one that features a healthy Purdy to create more explosive targets for the pass-catchers.

It appears as if Purdy could miss more time due to the injury, so the 49ers will need Jones to keep up his strong play going forward. They will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Week 6 looking to improve to 5-1 this season.