He's a playoff passer with a perfect rating. Jennings' unlikely touchdown throws to McCaffrey rewrite NFL history, showcasing surprising QB roots.
Jauan Jennings is known for doing the dirty work. He blocks. He moves the chains. He delivers in big moments. He is perfection as a playoff passer.
In the 49ers’ 23–19 Wild Card win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Jennings once again completed a touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey, in doing so he keeps an absurd and very real stat alive. Jennings now owns a perfect passer rating in multiple playoff games, a feat no player in NFL history has accomplished.
The play itself was vintage Kyle Shanahan creativity. Off a jet-sweep look, Jennings sold the run just long enough to freeze the defense before lofting the ball to McCaffrey in the end zone. It was a moment that flipped the game and immediately became one of the defining plays of the weekend.
“I was just thinking, get the ball, execute, tuck the ball away, make the defense think I’m running it,” Jennings said after the game. “I saw Christian get open, [and] made the right pass.”
That calm description undersells the difficulty of the moment. Wind gusts swirled through Lincoln Financial Field all night, and even teammates weren’t convinced the ball would get there.
“Honestly, I thought he overthrew it,” left tackle Trent Williams admitted postgame. “I thought the wind took it a little bit.”
Jennings agreed initially.
“I did,” Jennings said. “I really did. I was scared for a little bit, but after I heard the screams, it seems like he had to make a great catch.”
McCaffrey did exactly that, hauling in the pass for yet another postseason receiving touchdown having come via Jennings throws. Every playoff pass Jennings has attempted to McCaffrey has resulted in six points.
While the stat is fun, it’s not entirely accidental. Jennings’ football roots are as a quarterback, dating back to his days at Blackman High School in Tennessee. Though he converted to wide receiver in college, the instincts haven’t disappeared.
“Just during the play, I feel like I was quarterbacking back at Blackman High School,” Jennings said. “I snapped back into reality real quick. I’m a receiver, and I’m just out there trying to get open for Brock.”
Knowing when to tap into his past while fully embracing his role is what makes Jennings so valuable to this offense. Beyond the trick play, he finished the night with 45 receiving yards and a touchdown, while also doing the physical blocking work that rarely shows up in box scores but consistently shows up on film.
Perhaps the most impressive part of Jennings’ growing postseason résumé is the context. One of his playoff passing touchdowns came against a Vic Fangio-led defense, a coordinator widely regarded as one of the best in football at limiting explosive plays and trickery.
Still, when the moment arrived, Jennings delivered.
The 49ers now turn their attention forward, but Jennings’ contribution will linger. In a game filled with injuries, wind, and tension, San Francisco found points through a wide receiver who simply doesn’t miss when it matters most.
While it might be a small sample size, perfection doesn’t need to last long, it just needs to show up at the right time.