Even Jake Tonges Thought Brock Purdy Was Throwing the Ball Away on Game-Winning TD

Tonges had zero career catches coming into the 2025 season.

Jake Tonges made the biggest catch of his career against the Seahawks. He had never had a catch in the NFL before today. / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Jake Tonges played four years at Cal before going undrafted in 2022. While the 49ers tight end has been in the NFL ever since, he's had little proof. His Pro Football Reference page existed, but showed just two tackles on special teams through three seasons. At least on ESPN.com it shows he was targeted once back in his rookie year.

Maybe going two full seasons without having a pass thrown his way is why he had to ask his quarterback if he was really targeting him on the game-winner. Purdy insisted he was trying to give Tonges a chance to make a play and it paid off in a 17-13 win for the 49ers.

Tonges wasn't the only one who thought Purdy might have been cutting his losses on the play and Tonges got in the way. Multiple 49ers teammates, including Trent Williams and Deommodore Lenoir thought Purdy was throwing it away.

"That was one of them plays. I'll remember that forever."

"It was literally slow motion. Like a movie... on my mom I'm thinking the ball is gettin' thrown away."

Deommodore Lenoir and Trent Williams couldn't BELIEVE Jake Tonges came down with the game-winning TD. pic.twitter.com/TWQQhGWV3d

— KNBR (@KNBR) September 8, 2025

Whatever Purdy's true intentions were on the game-winning touchdown pass, when Tonges wakes up tomorrow, he's going to have some real honest to goodness statistics to read.

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