Story by
The classy reason 49ers’ Mac Jones subbed himself out vs. Giants
- Story by
- The classy reason 49ers’ Mac Jones subbed himself out vs. Giants
The post The classy reason 49ers' Mac Jones subbed himself out vs. Giants appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Mac Jones turned in one of his cleanest performances in the San Francisco 49ers ' 34-24 win over the New York Giants , finishing 19-of-24 for 235 yards and two touchdowns. With Brock Purdy sidelined by a toe injury , Jones has stepped up as the starter and now sits at 5-2 in that role this season.
Advertisement
In a classy move, as the 49ers were closing out the victory, Mac Jones subbed himself out so Adrian Martinez could take his first NFL snap. The quarterback confirmed the selfless gesture in his postgame interview.
"Yeah. Kyle already took his headset off, and I'm like, 'Go on, Adrian'. So I just subbed myself out, snuck to the sideline," Jones said in a video shared by 49ers on NBCS. "But I was happy. I think Adrian was going to go in either way, and they wanted him to get in there. But when they scored, you know, you just got to get the first down with offense. So once we were taking a knee, I definitely wanted Adrian to be there."
Jones praised his backup quarterback and the rest of the room. "He's just been awesome, to be honest. He's a good friend of mine. Just gotten to know him. He's been a great voice in that room, along with Brock and Rourke as well. So we got a great room," he added.
Martinez took the field for the final kneel-down with about a minute remaining, recording his first NFL snap. The official box score shows one carry for -1 yard, the standard stat line for a victory formation kneel.
Advertisement
The moment speaks to the culture Kyle Shanahan has built in San Francisco . Jones didn't need to exit the game, but he recognized an opportunity to get Martinez his debut.
Jones started hot against New York, opening the game 14-for-14 before finishing with efficient numbers across the board. He connected on a 21-yard dart to Kendrick Bourne in a tight window and found Jauan Jennings for a red-zone touchdown.
While Jones managed the passing game, Christian McCaffrey was the engine behind San Francisco's offense. He totaled 173 yards from scrimmage with two touchdowns, rushing for 106 yards on 28 carries and adding 67 receiving yards. The performance was historic, as McCaffrey broke Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk's record for most games with both a rushing and receiving touchdown.
The win pushed San Francisco to 6-3, keeping them firmly in the NFC playoff race.
Advertisement
Martinez, a former Kansas State standout, had been elevated to the backup spot with Purdy inactive. He now has his first official NFL appearance on the books, thanks to a quarterback who made sure his teammate got a moment to remember.
Related: 49ers' Robert Saleh had big fan moment with Giants' Jaxson Dart after Week 9 clash
Related: The 49ers are still contenders in the NFC despite laundry list of injuries
