San Francisco 49ers 26, New Orleans Saints 21: Grades

Mac Jones was outstanding. He dropped back a whopping 45 times, and still threw no interceptions. Granted, he got sacked three times and fumbled once, but his three touchdown passes more than made up for his mistakes. In Brock Purdy's entire career, he never has dropped back 45 times and thrown three touchdown passes and zero picks. That doesn't mean Jones is better than Purdy. Keep in mind, the 49ers played the lowly Saints today. Still, Jones clearly has a stronger arm than Purdy. He made a few throws in this game that Purdy probably wouldn't have. And Jones didn't have to scramble around or force the ball to Christian McCaffrey like Purdy did last week in Seattle. I wonder if the 49ers privately regret giving Brock Purdy a five-year, $265 million extension before seeing Mac Jones in a real game. Because he can do most of what Purdy does for just $4 million per season.

Running backs: B-minus

Christian McCaffrey had another excellent game as a receiver. As a runner, he was solid yet unspectacular, averaging a pedestrian 4.2 yards per carry. He's still good, but he's not what he was two years ago. But he certainly is better than Brian Robinson Jr., who has no juice. He averaged just 3.3 yards per carry in this game. The 49ers need to replace him with rookie Jordan James as soon as possible. Finally, Kyle Juszczyk left the game with a concussion, and the offense didn't miss a beat.

Wide receivers: B-plus

Jauan Jennings shook off the rust and finished the game with 5 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. He's still the go-to guy in the passing game while George Kittle is out. And Ricky Pearsall is a quality No. 2 receiver. Meanwhile, Kendrick Bourne is completely washed. The 49ers need to replace him with rookie Jordan Watkins.

Tight ends: C-plus

Luke Farrell caught a pass in the flat, broke a tackle and scored a touchdown. That was a nice play. Jake Tonges replaced Juszczyk as the fullback and had a costly holding penalty, but he still caught four passes for 31 yards. This is the deepest group of tight ends the 49ers have had under head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Offensive linemen: B

Ben Bartch went down almost immediately with an ankle injury and never returned. The 49ers replaced him with rookie Connor Colby, who played well enough. This should be the end of Bartch starting for the 49ers. He simply isn't durable enough.

Defensive linemen: B

Mykel Williams is an elite run defender already. He had two tackles for loss in the game and was impossible to move. He's also starting to generate pressure as a pass rusher. The rest of the pass rush was dormant until the end of the game, when Bryce Huff exploded around the edge and stripped the ball away from Spencer Rattler to end the game. It's impressive when a unit that has struggled for most of the game can step up in the crisis moment. That's the mark of a good team.

Linebackers: A-minus

Fred Warner had 11 tackles and made an incredible play late in the fourth quarter in which he forced a fumble and recovered the fumble all by himself. His running mate, Dee Winters, recorded eight tackles. He also committed a 15-yard penalty on a late hit out of bounds -- call that the Dre Greenlaw special. He used to do that all the time. Give the 49ers credit for believing in Winters and letting Greenlaw leave in free agency, because Winters is clearly better than him at this point in their careers.

Defensive backs: C-minus

Deommodore Lenoir was dominant, but the Saints mostly stayed away from him, because they had so much success targeting Renardo Green, Upton Stout, Jason Pinnock and Marques Sigle. These guys made Rattler seem like Drew Brees until late in the fourth quarter when the pass rush took over. This defense will struggle against teams that have multiple good receivers, because the 49ers don't have the personnel to match up man to man.

Special teams: A-minus

Eddy Pineiro missed his first kick -- an extra-point attempt -- but was perfect after that. And punter Thomas Morstead pinned the Saints inside their 11-yard line for the final two drives, which was clutch. Because while Rattler is good, he's not good enough to lead the Saints 90 yards for a touchdown against the 49ers.

Coaches: B

Robert Saleh's defense was on its heels most of the game because it couldn't cover man-to-man or stop Saints running back Alvin Kamara. The defense finally came together late when the Saints' offense had no choice but to pass. But at least Saleh's defense did something that Kyle Shanahan's offense couldn't do in this game, which was close it out. Shanahan kept calling passes while leading in the second half, which is his favorite way to choke. Fortunately for him, Jones didn't throw any interceptions, and the defense stepped up. Still, this was an extremely narrow win over a decidedly bad opponent. It's always good to start a season 2-0 -- especially when those wins come on the road -- but the Cardinals will be a much tougher test next week.