How the 49ers are getting the most out of Mac Jones

Can the 49ers continue to get this kind of play from Jones?

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers have gotten some of the best play from Mac Jones in his entire career over his past three starts. The biggest change in Jones’ play is that he is protecting the football at a much higher rate than he typically has. 

The San Francisco 49ers are getting the best of Mac Jones

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones (10). | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

According to Pro Football Focus, Mac Jones has a 2.1% Turnover Worthy Throw rate. For his career, he is at 3.3% and his best season was 2.5%. While it is hard to compare a three-game sample to a full season, it is noticeable how Jones is playing.

When Jones looked like one of the best young passers as a rookie, he had his career-high rate. From there, he proceeded to put the ball in danger at a much higher clip. 

Jones was not as good in his second year, and he dealt with some injury issues. His turnover-worthy throw rate also went up to 2.7%. However, Year 3 is when things fell apart for him. He had a 5.8% rate, which is what made him unplayable. 

He was down at 3.2% last season with the Jaguars, which is not bad, but not quite where he was during his rookie season, when the hopes were high for him. However, you can chalk some of that up to the team and environment. 

His head coach is not coaching at all right now, and the skill players were a bit questionable at the time. When you combine that with a poor defense, Jones likely was trying to force things to keep the scoring up. 

When Jones protected the ball as a rookie, he had a good defense, a run game to lean on, and he just had to make the smart play with the football and not turn the ball over. He was not Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes, but the Patriots won games. When Jones tried to be one of those playmakers, the bad plays came.

San Francisco has a good defense that is well-coached. They have enough skill players and enough scheme that Jones does not need to resort to hero ball to beat teams like the Los Angeles Rams. 

This version of Jones is the player that was discussed as a top ten pick, and a player who would not slide out of the first round. Can the 49ers continue to get this kind of play from Jones?