Jauan Jennings' profession day for the 49ers is in vain against the Rams

Posted by enzo2go September 23, 2024

As depressing because it is to discuss a legendary faceplant of the 49ers Consider Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams how bad it will be in the event that they hadn't give you the money to sign their best receiver.

We're not talking about Brandon Aiyuk, who caught five passes for 48 yards and signed a four-year contract value $30 million per season in the times before the season.

The player who mattered essentially the most was Jauan Jennings, the previous third-and-jauan who was a go-to guy for all downs with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey out. Jennings set profession highs with 11 receptions, 175 yards and three touchdowns.

Jennings and quarterback Brock Purdy (22 of 30, 292 yards, three touchdowns) carried the 49ers' passing game and each did enough to win. Instead, Purdy stood on the postgame podium and declared the 49ers' second consecutive loss and Jennings left the locker room without chatting with reporters after the sport of his life.

In the offseason, Jennings, a seventh-round draft pick in 2022, was a restricted free agent and the 49ers gave him a two-year contract value $15 million with $8.4 million guaranteed.

“Jauan was incredible,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I think the numbers show it, but more than the numbers, he was a fighter the whole game. He's always like that, but today he had a lot of chances and he took every single one of them automatically.”

Jennings caught touchdowns of 13, 4 and 31 yards from Purdy, the last of which gave the 49ers a 21-7 lead with 7:01 minutes left.

He scored his first touchdown on a very open play during which Aiyuk drew coverage.

“It started with BA on the backside, and JJ kind of bluffed like he was blocking and slid up the seam,” Purdy said. “He was my second read and he was completely open. Great play.”

Jennings' most impressive performance got here when he wasn't on their lonesome. He by some means stole a ball from Quintin Lake and gained 32 yards, establishing the sector goal that gave the 49ers a 24-13 lead with 11:57 left.

He caught the ball on a minimum of two occasions when he was surrounded by three defenders. Shanahan said afterward he wondered if it was clever to throw him the ball in the primary place.

“Even on some bad chances when I didn't know if the ball was going to go there, you quickly realized they weren't going to take the ball away from Jauan,” Shanahan said. “His play today was very inspiring.”

According to Associated Press stats expert Josh Dubow, only three 49ers receivers have ever had a game with 10 or more catches, 175 or more yards and three or more touchdowns. The other two – Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens – are within the Hall of Fame.

Jennings caught his career-high 11 passes on 12 attempts. He also set his previous profession highs at SoFi Stadium as a rookie in the ultimate game of the 2021 regular season: six catches for 94 yards with two scores, a 24-yard pass from Jimmy Garoppolo and a 14-yard pass on a reverse from Samuel.

The 49ers celebrated today with a 27-24 victory in extra time, securing their playoff spot.

It was the alternative of last yr's Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, when Jennings looked like he could change into the most dear player when the previous Tennessee quarterback threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey and caught a 10-yard pass from Purdy, resulting in a 16-13 lead early within the fourth quarter. The 49ers, in fact, lost in extra time, 25-22.

“I absolutely love Jauan,” Purdy said. “Just the way he comes in and brings energy and his love for the game, you can feel it. You can see it. I'll go to war with him any day of the week.”

As for Aiyuk, he now has 10 pass catches for 119 yards with no touchdowns through three games. It's also value noting that he's never had a game where he caught 11 passes. Never had a game where he scored three touchdowns. Never had a game with 175 yards passing.

That's to not say Aiyuk didn't have an effect against the Rams, because with Samuel, Kittle and McCaffrey all missing, he was actually a focus of the Rams defense on more plays than simply Jennings' first touchdown. He was targeted 10 times, only one lower than Jennings.

Purdy said against the Rams he simply went where the reads and progressions took him, and went where they took him, fairly than specializing in a particular receiver.

“I just think it has to do with the opportunities you get in games with looks,” Purdy said. “It's not like I'm backing off and saying, 'We're not ready, I'm not going to pass him the ball.' It's nothing to do with that. It's about, 'How do I see this? Is it the right thing to do here with BA?' We're making plans to put him in great position to win and pass him the ball, but the defense does a good job of planning some things, they get me off my looks and I go to other guys.

“We will proceed to work to seek out an agreement. I really like BA. He is working really hard right away and I can inform you that we’ll proceed to grow together.”

And if you needed any more proof of what a leader Purdy is, consider how he mastered a drop from second-year receiver Ronnie Bell with 1:08 left that could have set up a game-winning field goal for the 49ers.

“I don't know if I had enough power from where I used to be within the pocket,” Purdy said. “I'm just trying to provide him a likelihood. Obviously I could give him a greater ball and every part. He's a young guy, I really like him. We're all behind Ronnie, so we're going to proceed to want him and construct him up, and we're all on this together. It's a team sport. It's not about one game or one player.”

Not normally, anyway, although for a very long time on Sunday it looked as if Jauan Jennings was the player who made the largest difference.

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