Confusion over Jordan Mason's postgame comments may leave 49ers with some explaining to do

Jordan Mason had a night to remember as the San Francisco 49ers crushed the New York Jets on Monday Night Football.

Starting at running back in place of Christian McCaffrey, who was a late surprise inactive having been limited in practice all week, Mason racked up 147 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries as the Niners dominated on the ground.

But the third-year former undrafted free agent might have put the 49ers in hot water.

Asked by ESPN's Lisa Salters when he learned he was going to start, Mason replied: "Maybe Friday night."

That claim by Mason could lead the NFL to demand an explanation from the Niners, who listed McCaffrey as "questionable" on the final practice report on Saturday.

Mason's answer was immediately contradicted by head coach Kyle Shanahan, who described McCaffrey as a "game-time decision" following a discussion about his calf/Achilles injury earlier in the day.

"Thought it was going to be smart to keep him out, glad we did," Shanahan said in his postgame press conference.

Asked about Mason's comments, he replied: "I never told Jordan he was going to start.

"I told him he had to be ready a bunch. But that might have been Bobby [Turner, the 49ers running back coach] or someone trying to pump him up.

"I knew he was going to have to play a lot. I told him it wasn’t going to be usual. I told him he was going to be a number two back that was splitting a lot of the time."

Still, by that point, Mason's remarks had already attracted much controversy, leading to the star of the 49ers' domineering win being in an unfortunately subdued mood in a brief press conference.

Asked again about when he learned he would be starting, Mason replied: "That question right there is why I'm mad. That's why I don't really like talking to media because, you say one thing and then.... I don't know. Skip that question."

Mason's response would indicate the 49ers quickly pointed out the error he made in his reply in the interview with Salters to the young running back.

It's a shame the issue of the 49ers' practice report has somewhat overshadowed Mason's career night. However, with McCaffrey no guarantee to be ready for Week 2, there seems to be a good chance Mason will get to use the frustration from this episode as fuel for another strong showing against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Related: Kyle Shanahan and 49ers take it back to the old school to overcome Christian McCaffrey absence