No Christian McCaffrey. No problem. The San Francisco 49ers got into the win column right out of the gate in Week 1, defeating the New York Jets, 32-19, on Monday night.
This victory came despite defending NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey being a surprise inactive. The running back was listed as questionable due to a calf/Achilles injuries but was largely expected to play. That opened the door for former undrafted free agent Jordan Mason to get the start and pick up the mantle. He, along with Deebo Samuel, proved to be key pieces to the winning effort as both found the end zone.
Brock Purdy continued to be his steady self, completing 19 of his 29 passes for 231 yards. However, when it comes to quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers was the key story coming into this matchup. After all, it was on this very stage a year ago that the four-time NFL MVP suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Rodgers came out of this healthy and had flashes of his Hall of Fame talent, but the offense struggled to find some consistency. Rodgers completed 13 of his 21 passes on the night for 167 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
For more on how this game unfolded, check out our main takeaways below.
Without Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason filled his shoes admirably. The former undrafted free agent got the start and was a key cog in the 49ers offense, rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown. While no one can replace McCaffrey's full production, Mason more than held his own.
As for the game itself, the switch flipped in favor of the 49ers in the second quarter. After the Jets took a 7-3 lead thanks to a 12-play touchdown drive, the Niners defense puts the clamps down. The unit forced New York into back-to-back three-and-outs where they managed just five yards of total offense. Over that same stretch, the San Francisco offense put up 10 points to take the lead and never gave it back. After scoring an opening drive touchdown to begin the third quarter, the defense came up clutch again, picking Rodgers off and giving the ball back to the offense, which put together another field goal drive.
Speaking of the kicking game, Jake Moody was automatic in the win, connecting on all six of his field goal attempts including two from 50-plus yards out. In all, he accounted for 20 of San Francisco's points.
The offense ran hot and cold in this defeat. They began the night with a three-and-out and a fumble before conducting a sensational 70-yard touchdown drive. There, Rodgers converted three third downs and looked sharp doing it before Breece Hall rushed for the goal-line score. At that point, it looked like New York may be well on its way to an upset. That was short-lived, however, as the offense went cold yet again with two three-and-outs to end the half while San Francisco went on a 10-0 run.
It was the same story in the second half as well. The Jets had an interception on their first possession of the third quarter, but then looked as dialed-in as they had all night with another 70-yard touchdown drive. Rodgers specifically looked his best on that drive with two stellar throws to Allen Lazard, including a 36-yard touchdown on a free play. Again, there were moments for New York's offense, but it struggled to find consistency. That was evident in the fourth quarter where the Jets failed to convert a third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 on back-to-back plays.
As for the defense, it struggled to contain the 49ers offense even without Christian McCaffrey. They allowed San Francisco to covert six of its 13 third downs, which resulted in the offense nearly doubling them up in total plays run, 70-49. Naturally, being on the field for that amount of time tired New York's defense out.
San Francisco began building momentum to close out the first half, going on a 10-0 run in the second quarter. When they truly pulled away, however, was during an 11-play touchdown drive to begin the third quarter that traveled 70 yards and chewed over seven minutes off the clock. That rushing touchdown by Jordan Mason put the Niners up by 16.
The defense then put the nail in the coffin in New York on the ensuing possession where it picked off Aaron Rodgers. The 49ers would add to their lead off of that turnover thanks to a 53-yard field goal by Jake Moody. In the blink of an eye, a nine-point halftime deficit ballooned to 19.
While he may have come out on the losing end of this Week 1 matchup, Aaron Rodgers flashed his old self in the opener. In the second half, Rodgers executed a free play in a way only he can. Once the Jets quarterback realized a 49ers edge rusher jumped offside, Rodgers received the snap and uncorked a perfectly thrown deep ball to Allen Lazard for a 36-yard touchdown. That was vintage Aaron Rodgers. It was also his 18th career touchdown pass on a free play, per the broadcast.
From here, the 49ers will head to Minnesota where they'll play the Vikings in Week 2. As for the Jets, they'll wrap up this two-game road trip to begin the season in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans.
Rodgers was 13 of 21 for 167 yards with a TD and a pick. He oddly did not play in the Jets' final drive; watching on the sideline as Taylor drove them down the field for a late score. It's clear that NY's secondary receivers have to do more going forward. And the offensive line has to clear more holes for Hall.
The story of tonight's game wasn't Rodgers of the NFL's newest $30M receiver (Aiyuk). It was Jordan Mason, who rushed for 147 yards and a score on 28 carries. One would think Mason will get more work going forward, even if CMC is healthy.
The 49ers only sacked Rodgers once, but they applied enough pressure to make him force some of his throws that led to incompletions and one pick. And they suffocated the Jets' rushing attack, making NY one dimensional.
One thing you wouldn't have expected, Allen Lazard led both teams with 89 yards and two scores on six catches. But it was the 49ers' night.
The 32-19 final score wasn't indicative of the game it was. SF dominated.
Moody joins Steelers kicker Chris Boswell as kickers in Week 1 that drilled six field goals in a game. This one was set up by a 24-yard run by Jordan Mason, who is having a whale of a night.
The drive came on a short field that was set up by SF's defense stopping the Jets on fourth-and-1 on their ensuing drive.
NY appeared to have some life when Rodgers hit Lazard. But it's been all downhill after that. And Rodgers has been taken out of the game with 4 minutes left. Tyrod Taylor will finish this one out.
Two big gains by Deebo Samuel led to Moody's fifth FG of the night, making it a 16-point game with half a quarter left.
The drive also included a 15-yard completion to Jennings, who appears to be OK after walking off the field earlier in the half.
Jets defense has done well in the red zone, but they've given up far too many long drives tonight, hence the 29 points allowed. Just too many weapons to contend with, even with CMC out. And no pressure on Purdy doesn't help.
Rodgers shook off the pick by throwing a perfectly-thrown pass to Allen Lazard on a free play (a Rodgers speciality). Rodgers flicked the ball out of his hand the second he saw Lazard get separation downfield. Lazard finished the play by making the catch and securing Rodgers' first TD throw since the 2022 season.
Jets don't get the two-point conversion, though, as Hall was stopped short of the goal line. But that was a big TD for not jsut this game, but for the Jets' season as someone other than Wilson did something in the passing game for Gang Green.
NYJ still alive, but defense needs to stop the 49ers for the first time since the first quarter.
The Jets' first drive of the second half didn't go well. It ended with Rodgers getting picked off by Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles on a pass intended for Garrett Wilson. The throw wasn't great, but it a byproduct of a few things ...
The pick set up Moody's 51-yard FG, extending SF's lead to 26-7.
The 49ers have now scored on their last drives after Jordan Mason's capped off the first drive of the second half with a five-yard TD, extending SF's lead to 23-7.
The 11-play, 70-yard drive included the game's longest play to this point: a 34-yard completion from Brock Purdy to FB Kyle Juszczyk. Purdy completed passes to four different teammates on the drive, as the 49ers' embarrassment of riches on offense is on full display.
One troublesome thing, though, was Jauan Jennings heading to the sideline after his catch early in the drive. It's worth noting that Jennings has been dealing with an ankle injury.
The home team score 10 unanswered points to take a nine-point lead at halftime. The 49ers ended the game with Moody's third field goal, a 31-yard boot that capped off a 12-play, 75-yard drive.
New York's offense did little following their lone scoring drive of the half. Rodgers was 7 of 11 for just 64 yards in the first half. The majority of those yards came during New York's lone scoring drive. Wilson caught four passes, but each of those receptions acme on the Jets' scoring drive. New York struggled to tun the ball with just 24 yards on 11 carries.
Conversely, the 49ers are doing just find on the ground despite not having Christian McCaffrey. Jordan Mason rumbled for 74 yards on 11 carries in the first half.
49ers get the ball to start the second half in what could be a critical moment in the game.
In a twist of fate, Deebo Samuel gave the 49ers the lead on a two-yard TD run. Samuel made up for his holding call on a Mason Wilson run several plays earlier. 49ers now lead 13-7 midway through the second quarter.
The drive's big play was a 22-yard completion from Brock Purdy to Jauan Jennings, the 49ers' "other" who got an extension this offseason.
DT Michael Clemons jogged off the field with the 49ers driving as the first quarter ended. Clemons appeared to possibly suffer an injury to his midsection.
After not doing much on their first two drives, the 49ers got things going with a 13-yard run by Mason and a 14-yard grab (his first of the night) by Brandon Aiyuk one play after Sauce Gardner broke up a pass intended for Aiyuk.
The drive ended with another Moody field goal after Gardner tackled Deebo Samuel for a loss after an unsuccessful trick play. Gardner was slow to get up after the play but appears to be OK.
The running game went nowhere, but Rodgers and Wilson connected four times for 45 yards to lead the Jets on a 12-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a three-yard TD run by Breece Hall. Rodgers and Wilson connected three times on third down to extend the drive.
Rodgers hasn't been touched yet, a very good sign for the Jets. Just need to get it going on the ground.
The completion resulted in a fumble. Rodger hit Breece Hall on a screen but Fred Warner forced and recovered the fumble. The play seemed doomed before Rodgers threw the ball though, as the Jets didn't do a good job selling the screen. Also looks like the 49ers playing much faster on defense.
The 49ers turned the TO into Jake Moody's field goal, as the 49ers take an early 3-0 lead.
Jets start the game with two short runs by Breece Hall and an incomplete pass from Rodgers to Allen Lazard on third-and-3. Lazard should have caught that, but Rodgers' first throw in nearly two years goes in the books as an incompletion. Lazard appeared to slip, so the field condition is something to keep an eye on.
The 49ers also punted after three plays. Jordan Mason had two yards on first down, Brock Purdy hit George Kittle for six yards on second down and Purdy went deep and wasn't able to connect with Deebo Samuel on third-and-2. Odd choice going deep on third and short.
Cool storyline for this game: Aaron Rodgers is a CA native and grew up a huge 49ers fan; he actually integrated how Joe Montana/Steve Young attacked defenses (and how defenses attacked them) into his weekly prep during high school. Rodgers had a chance to be taken by the 49ers in the 2005 Draft, but they passed on him. Now, in a very meaningful game in his career coming off of Achilles surgery, Rodgers will face his childhood team in his backyard.
Like Tyler alluded to, Jordan Mason has made the most of his carries over the years. He's averaged 5.2 YPC in the NFL after averaging 5.2 YPC during his four-year career at Georgia. Mason had a career-high 69 yards and a TD on 10 carries during last year's blowout win over the Cowboys.
Jordan Mason will be San Francisco's starting running back. He signed on with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2022. For his career, he's rushed for 464 yards on 83 attempts.
When McCaffrey has been on the field with the 49ers, the offense is averaging 6.8 yards per play compared to the 5.2 yards per play average when he's off dating back to his debut in Week 7 of the 2022 season.
49ers now officially list McCaffrey as inactive.
BREAKING: The 49ers will be without star running back Christian McCaffrey for their Week 1 opener against the Jets, per NFL Media. McCaffrey was listed as questionable after being limited in practice this week due to a calf/Achilles injury.
