No Brock Purdy. No Ricky Pearsall. No Jauan Jennings. No Nick Bosa. No George Kittle … And, yet, no problem for San Francisco.

The 49ers defeated the Rams 26-23 in overtime behind a terrific performance from Mac Jones, another workmanlike effort from Christian McCaffrey, a career night from Kendrick Bourne and several clutch red zone plays from their defense.

Eddy Pineiro made a 41-yard field goal on the 49ers’ opening drive of overtime, and San Francisco stopped Kyren Williams on a fourth and 1 from the 11-yard line to preserve the win.

That followed a wild end to regulation. Pineiro nailed a go-ahead 59-yard field goal with just over two minutes left to give San Francisco the lead, but it looked like it wouldn’t hold up. Matthew Stafford quickly led the Rams back down the field into the red zone. However, with Williams running with a head full of steam just 2 yards from the end zone, Alfred Collins came up with the biggest play of his young NFL career, punching the ball out. He also recovered the ball.

However, the 49ers (4-1), backed up at their own 1-yard line, dialed up three conservative plays and went three and out, enabling the Rams (3-2) to get one last shot. Stafford got Los Angeles into field goal range before Joshua Karty’s 48-yarder sent the contest to the extra session.

Jones finished 33 for 49 for 342 passing yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and just one sack despite taking multiple hits. McCaffrey had 30 touches for 139 yards, and Bourne had 10 catches for a career-high 142 yards.

Jones led a quick start, connecting on 11 of 13 passes for 131 and two touchdowns, the first to Jake Tonges from 6 yards out, the second a 1-yarder to McCaffrey. Overall, he went 15 for 23 for 179 yards, in the first half.

Los Angeles finally got its offense going shortly before halftime, with Stafford finding Williams out of the backfield for a 14-yard touchdown.

The 49ers put together a strong response, though, and got a Pineiro 37-yard field goal as time expired in the half.

The 49ers had a moment of panic in the third quarter when Jones got rocked by Byron Young and clutched at his left leg; he has had a bothersome left knee early in the season, and he appeared to be in significant pain. However, after trainers helped him to his feet, he was able to jog off the field and did not miss any time. The 49ers’ backup quarterback is Adrian Martinez, who has never appeared in an NFL game.

The 49ers extended their lead to 20-7 before Stafford led a long drive and fired a quick pass to Puka Nacua for a 1-yard score to cut it to 20-14. Stafford then led a second consecutive scoring drive and again found Williams for a touchdown, this time from 8 yards out. It’s Williams’ second career game with multiple receiving touchdowns.

However, the extra point was blocked, leaving the game tied at 20-20. That set up a wild finish that ultimately went San Francisco’s way.

Here are our takeaways from the game:

Play(s) of the game

For all the players the 49ers are without, it’s one of the few healthy stars — middle linebacker Fred Warner — who came up with a huge stop in the game-clinching moment.

“They wanted to see who wanted it more, and it looked like we did,” Warner told the “Thursday Night Football” crew after the game.

Of course, Warner wouldn’t have even gotten that chance to make that play if Collins didn’t make this one:

Mac Jones delivers wonderful, warrior-like performance

If you want to see why Kyle Shanahan initially wanted Mac Jones so badly leading into the 2021 NFL Draft and signed him to be Purdy’s backup this offseason, it was on display Thursday night.

Jones was accurate on his short passes and operated the offense cleanly even though he had missed practices over the past few weeks. He was mostly kept clean throughout the game, but even when there was pressure, he made some impressive throws. He located a beautiful third-and-9 back-shoulder throw to DeMarcus Robinson, for example, on an early touchdown drive.

Jones’ biggest strengths — his accuracy and his ability to process information and make the correct read quickly — are especially on display in this offense. He’s now 3-0 in his brief 49ers career.

3-0 Record, 800+ Pass Yds, 6+ Pass TD in 1st 3 starts With a Team – Since 19502025Mac Jones49ers2021Matthew StaffordRams2017-18Patrick Mahomes Chiefs1999 Kurt Warner Rams

That Jones played through significant pain — after the game, he said he was OK and dealing with cramps in that left leg that’s already been injured — was symbolic of a 49ers team that did what it needed to win with contributions up and down the roster.

“I can’t say enough good things about Mac,” McCaffrey said. “He’s a warrior the way he shows up every day at practice, the way he competes out there, he’s so loose. When you have a backup quarterback like that, that plays like a starter, it makes our job a lot easier. It’s just so much fun playing with him … He’s so poised throughout the entire game and I think just think his toughness, his overall grit, [is] something that helped us win this football game.”

49ers’ reserves step up

When this season started, Jones was the backup, neither Bourne nor Pineiro was even on the roster, Collins had never played a regular-season game and Tonges had never caught a pass. To see their names leading the way in a crucial division win is a testament to them, to coach Kyle Shanahan, to general manager John Lynch, and to their entire organization.

Bourne spent his first four seasons with the 49ers before spending the next four with the Patriots, where he had a career year with Jones as his quarterback. With Pearsall and Jennings out, it looked just like the old days for Jones and Bourne, just in different uniforms. Bourne made tough catches over the middle and showed his speed and toughness after the catch. Pineiro, brought in after Jake Moody struggled in Week 1, is now 11 for 11 on field goals with the 49ers.

Rams mistakes mount

Williams’ goal-line fumble crushed the Rams’ chances to win in overtime, but it was him getting stopped on the last play of the game that crushed the Rams’ chances of taking sole possession of first place. I didn’t love the play call considering Stafford (389 passing yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions) had shredded the 49ers’ secondary and hardly faced any pressure all night.

Those will get the headlines, but there were plenty more mistakes.

Karty missed a field goal and had an extra point blocked. The Rams had two kicks blocked in their loss to the Eagles in Week 3, too.Blake Corum mishandled the ball on a toss play early in the game. It’s credited as a Stafford fumble because Corum never possessed the football, but it was a clear mistake by the running back.Williams and Jordan Whittington both had drops on the Rams’ first drive of the second half.Darious Williams committed a careless pass interference on a third and 8 on a throw well short of the sticks. The 49ers ended up getting a field goal on the drive.On one of Jones’ rare miscues, Josaiah Stewart dropped a would-be interception that would have prevented Pineiro’s go-ahead kick late in regulation.What’s next

The 49ers will hope some of the bumps and bruises heal over the next week-plus before a trip to face the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. The Rams also head across the country in Week 5, to face the Ravens in Baltimore.