When news broke that Mac Jones, not $265 million man Brock Purdy, would be getting the start under center for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5 versus the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football, it left fans in Niners Nation feeling less than confident.

Sure, Jones and Purdy had put up basically the same stat lines in their two respective starts of the season so far, with the typical starter edging his backup in yards per game, albeit with more turnovers, but the Rams came a few plays away from the Super Bowl last season, and have been just as effective in 2025. Would Jones be able to overcome their defense at SoFi to give the 49ers solo possession of first place in the NFC West?

Quite frankly, he did more than overcome; he dominated.

Taking the field in hostile territory, Jones threw the game of his life, completing 33 of his 49 passes for 343 yards and two touchdowns while leading his team to a game-winning field goal in overtime. Asked about Jones' play, Kyle Shanahan gushed about his success, noting he played incredibly well, especially considering he was injured.

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“It was really impressive. He played his a** off, man. It was unbelievable in the first half,” Shanahan declared. “Got banged up a little bit there in the second half and paddled through it. Protected the ball, going against that defense and throwing the ball that many times, and not having to turn over and protect him like he did. I can't say enough good things about Mac.”

Famously, the quarterback many believe John Lynch traded up to select in the 2021 NFL Draft before Trey Lance somehow ended up getting the call, there have been rumblings that the 49ers might actually be better off with Jones playing over an injured Purdy, as their 3-0 record with the former Jaguars signal caller under center clearly proved. With two quarterbacks now dealing with injuries, who knows? Maybe Jones will continue to shine, maybe he'll fall back to earth, or maybe he'll end up trading starts with Purdy for the rest of the season, leading to some very interesting conversations around the trade deadline and into the offseason.