The San Francisco 49ers rookie right guard grew up in St. Charles, Mo., and idolized Donald, who began his career just down the road for the St. Louis Rams.
Puni started out as a defensive end in high school. As a junior, his rapidly expanding frame prompted him to move to the offensive line.
His aspirations changed, too. Early on, he wanted to be Donald. A few years later, he yearned to block Donald. He wanted to experience what it was like to go against the best defensive lineman in the world.
During down moments, he’d turn to a buddy on the offensive line and ask: If you had 100 chances, do you think you could block Donald once?
“And my delusional friend thought he could!” Puni said, a smile spreading across his face.
Donald retired one month before the 49ers drafted Puni in the third round in April, denying him a chance to test himself against the man he spent so many hours watching on television. But on Sunday he’ll get the next best thing, a defensive tackle from the other side of the state, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones.
And truth be told, Jones has been a bigger thorn in the 49ers’ side than Donald ever was.
There was Jones at the end of Super Bowl LIV in 2020, swatting down two Jimmy Garoppolo passes and foiling a last-ditch 49ers drive. In Santa Clara in 2022, Jones had two sacks and a forced fumble in a 44-23 Chiefs rout. And in February, Jones was again his disruptive self, delivering six quarterback pressures in the Super Bowl rematch, including one on one of the most pivotal plays of the game.
The 49ers had surprisingly elected to receive the ball to start overtime, which seemed like a good decision when they methodically marched downfield on a 13-play drive. But it stalled on third-and-4 from the Chiefs’ 9-yard line when no one picked up Jones. Brock Purdy had to rush a throw to Jauan Jennings and missed Brandon Aiyuk running free in the end zone. The 49ers settled for a field goal and the Chiefs answered with a game-winning touchdown.
Jones had struck again.
In the most important moment of the Super Bowl, the 49ers didn’t properly block Chris Jones. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
“He shows up in big moments,” Puni said of what stands out most about Jones. “I think that’s his X-factor and what he brings to the table.”
Asked why San Francisco’s offensive line largely had success against Donald in their twice-a-season matchups but have been routinely done in by Jones, the 49ers had diverse answers.
“They’re different players,” right tackle Colton McKivitz said. “I mean, 95 (Jones) is obviously bigger than Donald was. He’s a hard dude to block, man. He’s one of the strongest players that I’ve ever played. You try to put as many hands as you can on the guy. And then obviously when you have protection breakdowns, it doesn’t help.”
Center Jake Brendel said the Chiefs have a better supporting cast for Jones than the Rams did for Donald, and they alternate their approach more often. That is, there’s more to worry about when facing Kansas City.
“Looking back at those Rams games, we weren’t as concerned about a ton of other people on that defensive roster,” he said. “I think a lot of them were good players, but they weren’t as high-level threats as the Chiefs have.”