49ers third-stringer, Los Gatos native an unlikely hero in win over Seahawks: ‘A dream come true’

San Francisco ers third-string tight end Jake Tonges didn t have a catch and was targeted only once through the first games and three years of his NFL career Nevertheless when starter George Kittle went down with a hamstring injury in the first half of Sunday s competition against the Seattle Seahawks Tonges was ready Tonges who grew up a short drive from Levi s Stadium as a Los Gatos native caught three passes including one for a touchdown with remaining in the fourth quarter to help the ers rally for a - season-opening win over the Seahawks at Lumen Field I m pretty excited Tonges explained the ers Radio Configuration after the meeting Really a dream come true right there With the ers facing a third-and- from the Seattle -yard line quarterback Brock Purdy dropped back to pass and had enough time to look to his left twice before scrambling to his right Purdy then slung the ball toward the corner of the end zone where the -foot- Tonges reached over Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen who got a hand on the ball and caught it for the first touchdown of his NFL career Looking on from the sideline in a red ers hoodie Kittle flashed a massive smile as thousands of the organization s fans inside the often-deafening stadium began to celebrate I had a corner curl and slipped coming out of my break and then the scramble drill was on Tonges announced We just inevitably try and stay in bounds and stay alive and Brock gave me a chance there and I did the best I could with it Kittle caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Purdy midway through the first quarter to give the ers a - lead and had four catches for yards before leaving the field with his injury As a career backup Tonges knows he has to stay ready for such moments and he finished the competition with three catches for yards I was thinking just about how plenty of games I prepped for and didn t really get the opportunity Tonges explained I kind of know this is my role if George goes down So I m perpetually paying extra attention to third-down stuff to a lot of the pass stuff Just staying locked in and being consistent because you really never know when your opportunity might come Tonges graduated from Los Gatos High School in and caught four touchdowns in four years at Cal from to He went undrafted but played four games with the Chicago Bears in playing snaps on offense while not being targeted with a pass Tonges was waived by the Bears in Aug but was signed by the ers to their practice squad a sparse weeks later Last season Tonges played in all games for the ers but was primarily used on special teams The ers re-signed him in April and are glad they did It just comes down to opportunities and in games do you get the right look to get the ball and everything Purdy revealed So he s been a consistent guy all throughout last year and camp George goes down in the modern day and then boom Tonges is ready for his opportunity We all love Jake He s a smart kid and we all love him and he s a brother to us Related Articles What the ers are saying after winning season opener against Seahawks Studs and Duds ers stars come up clutch in come-from-behind win over rival Seahawks ers Seahawks Late heroics produce chaotic season-opening win ers-Seahawks live updates Niners overcome injuries sloppy play to win opener A look at how NFL divisional and wild card races shape up for the season He s a guy that s made of the right stuff too ers running back Christian McCaffrey commented Practices really hard attention to detail is great willing to block does all the little things right Pumped for him It s a moment Tonges will remember forever After all he s never experienced anything like it in the NFL It s pretty awesome Tonges declared of the moment Growing up minutes from Levi s it s just your dream come true Wouldn t want to play for anyone else I love these guys I love this locker room and just want to keep rolling