49ers Notebook: Backup QB assessments; Jacob Cowing impresses in debut; Shanahan skips out on play calling again

Aside from quarterback Brock Purdy's forgettable preseason debut, perhaps the biggest stories to come out of Sunday night's 16-10 win over the New Orleans Saints for the 49ers were the performance of backup quarterbacks Joshua Dobbs and rookie wide receiver Jacob Cowing.

Dobbs may not have completely sealed the deal in the battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot with Brandon Allen, but he took a big step forward on Sunday. Meanwhile, Cowing made his preseason debut after missing time with a hamstring injury and left no doubt he belongs on the opening day roster and perhaps has a spot as the punt returner as well.

We'll get into those subjects and more in the latest version of 49ers Notebook.

Dobbs states his case

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan didn't show his hand Sunday night when it came to the backup quarterback competition, but Allen may have to play some catch-up after what Dobbs did against the Saints.

Dobbs entered the game early in the second quarter after Purdy went to the sidelines and led the team on three scoring drives before halftime. Dobbs finished with 133 yards on 12-of-21 passing (numbers that would have been better if not for a few dropped passes) along with three carries for 25 yards with one touchdown in less than a quarter of play.

"I felt comfortable, yeah," Dobbs said. "I think it showed in my play, how comfortable I felt, just being able to distribute the ball, make plays with my legs when they presented themselves. But I thought the young guys around me did a great job of stepping up. Jacob Cowing did a tremendous job -- big plays, some short passes and obviously the deep one down the sideline. Matt (Breida) back there, he had some great plays at running back. So it was great to have a good cast around me and be able to go out there and play well."

Allen was the second quarterback off the bench after getting the start in the 49ers' first preseason game, a 17-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Allen entered the game to start the third quarter and finished with 36 yards on 7-of-10 passing.

"Yeah, I thought they both did well with the reps they were given," Shanahan said. "Dobbs got to play a little bit more and I thought he did a real good job leading us on those drives. When Brandon came in, he did the same. So it was very similar to last week. The games have been tight, the practices have been tight. So that's a good problem we have right now."

One of Dobbs' highlight plays came when he turned a pressure situation into a dazzling 11-yard run for a first down. Dobbs' ability to make those plays certainly won't hurt his chances to become the team's No. 2 quarterback.

"Dobbs can make a lot of plays with his legs," Shanahan said. "When you have a true running quarterback where you can put in all the running plays for them, I don't want to necessarily put Josh in that category, but he is a guy that if you don't honor him, you can run those plays. And if you aren't honoring him in that way and you can run those plays, you're going to get a lot of really good looks, just like he did last year in Arizona and things like that. That's stuff that (2023 backup) Sam Darnold was capable of, too. You got to have the threat with your legs and stuff. You got to be willing to do it, but it's not something that you would ever major in with them."

Dobbs and Allen may get one more chance to state their case in the preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday. But Dobbs, who has 279 passing yards over the past two games, showed Sunday he could be tough to beat.

"He's a baller, man. He makes plays, goes through his reads and brings energy, man," Purdy said of Dobbs. "He's out there making plays and guys feed off it. You know, that's football. It's not always going to be pretty and you drop back and everything's going to be perfect. You're going to have to make plays off schedule and bring some juice to the team, and guys feed off that. So I love having him in the room and like I said, he's pretty electric."

The fourth quarterback

Sunday's game also marked the debut of undrafted rookie Tanner Mordecai, who played down the stretch in the fourth quarter after Allen headed to the sidelines. Mordecai finished 4-of-6 for 44 yards, showed the strong arm he is known for and led the 49ers on a drive that ended in a field goal.

"I thought he looked pretty good," Shanahan said. "I thought he did a good job. He got a couple chances with some throws. He ran the huddle very well. He got us in and out. He took us on that drive to get a field goal there at the end. Wish he got a little bit more, but did good with what we gave him."

Mordecai won't be a factor in the backup race but is certainly a candidate for the practice squad. Purdy called Mordecai's first NFL performance "awesome."

"To get out there, get into a rhythm, make a couple good throws on the run and he was in rhythm, on time, making good decisions," Purdy said. "To go out there fourth quarter, you never know what's going to happen or what defenses are going to be doing at that point, but he went out there and ran our offense pretty efficiently. So I'm pumped for him and I know it's going to continue to boost his confidence as he plays more."

Cowing shows his playmaking and punt return ability

The 49ers' receiver situation has been messy as of late due to Brandon Aiyuk's contract dispute and injuries to Cowing, first-round pick Ricky Pearsall and veteran Jauan Jennings. But Cowing provided some good news Sunday night with four catches for 51 yards, one carry for 19 yards and two punt returns for 19 yards in his first action in a preseason game.

Cowing, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of the University of Arizona, made one of the game's biggest plays with a 38-yard catch on third down to help put the 49ers in position to score their lone touchdown.

"He's been doing a really good job at practice... his speed and what he is able to do with the ball in his hand, obviously it just pops," Dobbs said of Cowing. "To see that live in the stadium, I thought it was really good. I thought it was great for his confidence. It was great for the team to see it, and it was fun obviously as a quarterback to have that kind of player."

Cowing told reporters that his recent time on the sidelines helped him improve his knowledge of the playbook, which carried over into his preseason debut.

"I think I just got a lot more confident with my abilities within the playbook -- being able to study the playbook the way that I did, for certain things to stick to me going into this game," Cowing said. "It allowed me to go out there and play fast and play my game a little bit, play relaxed."

Where Cowing fits in on offense once things get resolved at receiver remains to be seen, but he at least showed the potential to be a difference maker as a rookie. It also remains to be seen if he truly is the answer the 49ers are looking for at punt returner, but he's off to a good start there as well.

"We want to figure out whoever the best punt returner is on our 53, and he looked pretty good today," Shanahan said. "We drafted him hoping that he could have the potential to do it. Tonight was really the first time that we were able to get him out there and, you know, he's had a week of being healthy, so he's definitely got a chance to, but tonight was a step in the right direction."

Shanahan on Schrader

Another rookie who got plenty of opportunities Sunday was Cody Schrader, who started at running back with Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason and fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo on the sidelines due to injuries.

Once a walk-on in college, Schrader opened eyes at the University of Missouri in 2023 by rushing for 1,627 yards and 14 touchdowns. But he went undrafted and wound up signing with the 49ers in hopes he could find a way to stick with the team.

Schrader hasn't racked up much yardage through two preseason games, but he has had the opportunity to get his share of carries (12 total carries for 21 yards). Shanahan told reporters that what he's seen from Schrader is reminiscent of what he showed at Missouri.

"Similar to college," Shanahan said. "He's a good running back. He knows how to run the ball. He hits the right holes, doesn't mess around, lowers his pads and falls forward. He's been good in practice and he's done a good job with his opportunity in these two games."

Another "night off"

As was the case in the preseason opener against the Titans, Kyle Shanahan decided to hand over the play calling duties to offensive passing game specialist Klay Kubiak on Sunday night. Shanahan has never previously been known to pass on calling the plays on offense, but this year has been different.

"Can't really explain why," Shanahan said. "You know, I think certain years, sometimes you want to do it, especially when you're getting a feel for a quarterback you want them to get used to. I think our quarterback I've been with for wo years, so Brock's used to me... Just haven't feel like I needed to this year. And Klay's been great at it."

Kubiak's brother Klint was calling plays in the opposite press box as he is now the offensive coordinator for the Saints after serving as the 49ers' passing game coordinator in 2023. But Shanahan said Klint's presence had nothing to do with the decision to let Klay call plays.

"It actually didn't. No, it didn't. But I should have said it was that," Shanahan said.

Purdy told reporters he has enjoyed having Kubiak at the controls.

"It's been good," Purdy said. "I like just the way he calls plays and everything and obviously it's preseason, so it's just our basic concepts and plays. We're not scheming up other defenses or anything like that. So having him get some reps of calling plays I think is good for him and I like how he sees the game and the field and everything, so it's pretty good."

Meanwhile, Shanahan was focusing more on evaluating his players, among other things.

"Chewing seeds, threw a challenge, made a couple timeouts," Shanahan said. "No, just talking to coaches, making sure we had the right people in there. There's a lot of guys on the roster, and you want to make sure that guys get their opportunities, but also put guys in positions that you can evaluate where things are close and that's kind of more the stuff I was paying attention to."