What we learned from the 49ers’ win over the Jets on Monday night

COMPLETE RESULTS

1. Mason steps in in McCaffrey’s absence. Christian McCaffreyThe appearance of on the inactive list came as a bit of a surprise, as he was listed as questionable prior to Monday due to a calf and Achilles injury, and many wondered how the 49ers would fare without him against a Jets team known for its stingy defense. Ultimately, we needn’t have worried at all, because if there’s a coach who can maximize the performance of lesser-known running backs, it’s Kyle Shanahan, who Jordan Mason into his offense and saw him flourish. Mason finished the game with 147 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, powering a 49ers offense that used the running game to a dominant advantage in time of possession (38:40 to 21:20) and stunned the New York defense with a collection of Brock Purdy Passes to six different targets. Make no mistake: The star of the night was Mason, the last running back to rise from obscurity to a prominent role, joining the likes of Raheem Mostert, Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson, Matt Breida and others, even if only for one night.
2. The Jets’ defense is crumbling. For most of the Robert Saleh era, New York has relied on its defense to save the Jets when they were without a true quarterback. But for the first time in recent memory, the Jets’ defense failed to impress on Monday night, allowing the 49ers to rack up 401 yards of offense and string together an astonishing number of long drives. Five of San Francisco’s nine possessions were nine or more plays, and four of those were at least 70 yards. The most surprising detail? The 49ers didn’t have to score often on third down to keep the game going, finishing 6 of 13. The 49ers had a better strategy than the Jets, seemed to be one step ahead of New York starting in the second quarter, and executed their offense better than the Jets, who struggled to mount a big pass rush without a holdout (10 total pressures). Haason Reddick and rarely had an answer to what Shanahan was cooking up.
3. Kyle Shanahan is heading into 2024 at full steam. If the possession advantage didn’t tell you enough, just watch any of the 49ers’ eight consecutive drives to see how good Shanahan was in the pocket on Monday night. The veteran playmaker was in complete control of the game from San Francisco’s third possession onward, mixing in a number of different running concepts and giving New York’s pass defense a headache. The climax was beautiful for true football nerds. After Purdy missed a completely open pass, Kyle Juszczyk Shanahan ran down the sideline and dialed a wheel route for the fullback, who exited the backfield through the B-gap and found a soft spot between defenders for a 34-yard pass down the left sideline midway through the third quarter. At that point, it became clear that the Jets would have no answer for Shanahan, whose mastery of their own offense was on full display, helping the 49ers to a clear win in the season opener.
4. Rodgers gives a taste of what the Jets could be. The fourth game of the season must bring bad luck for Aaron Rodgerswhose 2023 season ended with the fourth snap and who watched Breece Hall lost the ball on the fourth snap of Monday night’s game. Weaker teams may struggle to overcome an early setback like that, but not Rodgers, who immediately recovered to lead a balanced 12-play, 70-yard drive that included two third-down conversions after completions. Garret Wilson and ended with a touchdown run by Hall from three yards out. The march was so impressive that people on social media claimed it was the Jets’ best possession in the last decade, if not longer. Hyperbole aside, it was certainly impressive and suggested we could be in for a thrilling matchup between two heavyweights. Ultimately, we learned that this was just a small taste of what the Jets’ offense could look like with Rodgers at the helm, as poor execution (two consecutive three-and-outs followed) hampered their ability to control possession, and when they had another real chance to get something going, a 16-point deficit put a damper on whatever offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett may have had in mind for the offense. Still, it was a nice taste of what Rodgers – who allowed just 21 passes on Monday night – could do with the Jets. We will see if this happens more often in the coming weeks.
5. New York has its standards. The Jets entered 2023 with an extreme amount of fanfare, and watched the hype evaporate after four plays. This time, Rodgers made it through the game without incident, and although he threw an interception in the second half, he still gave Jets fans crumbs of what could end up being a delicious dessert. One thing is for sure, though: The Jets need to get better on defense, which was once their signature skill and didn’t come to fruition Monday night. Reddick’s absence was conspicuous, and perhaps this result will spur some action regarding his contractual absence. Even if it doesn’t, the Jets now know what it’s like to take their talents and put them against an elite NFL team — and they’ve learned they’re not there yet. Fortunately, Week 1 is the best time of the season for that lesson.

Next-gen stats of the game: Niners left tackle Trent Williams did not allow a single quarterback pressure on 33 pass-blocking snaps. This is his first game since Week 2 of the 2022 season in which he did not allow a pressure on at least 14 pass-blocking snaps.

NFL Research: Shanahan’s 49ers successfully played keep-away on Monday night, dominating the time of possession from 38:40 to 21:20. The Jets’ 21:20 time of possession was the lowest mark in a game in Aaron Rodgers’ career.