The New York Jets lost, 32-19, to the reigning NFC champions and there's a lot of disappointment to unpack from the team's season opener.
It was always going to be a tough game from the get-go for the Jets heading into the San Francisco 49ers ' house with a bunch of question marks surrounding the team. Even though there were glimpses of what we could see from the squad this year, this game was a measuring stick to see how the Jets would match up against a perennial Super Bowl contender.
There's a bunch to clean up after last night's debacle, but luckily for the Jets this is the best team they will face the entire season and half of the league is 0-1 like them. Here are some takeaways from this game.
Jets' defense was overwhelmed
For the Jets to make a run for a Super Bowl their defense has to be the top-flight unit we saw from the last two seasons. Last night looked like the 2021 Jets defense that ranked Bottom 5 in the league that year.
Superstar RB Christian McCaffery was announced inactive prior to the game by the 49ers which was a surprise after logged a couple of limited practices. McCaffery is their best offensive weapon, logging over 2,000 scrimmage yards last year, and is a focal point in their offense.
That being said, the 49ers' running game did not skip a beat as former undrafted free agent RB Jordan Mason put on a spectacular show rushing 28 times for 147 yards. The Jets' defense could not get off the field and was dominated up front by the 49ers offensive line. Even players in the Jets secondary such as Sauce Gardner and Michael Carter got injured because of the punishment they were taken by Mason and company.
An eye-opening stat about this Jets' defense is that out of the top five players with tackles last night, three of them were Tony Adams, Chuck Clark, and D.J. Reed who are all in the secondary. The Jets' defensive line could not get anything going, especially to stop the run game which reared its ugly head when the Niners got 3rd down and shorts. The Jets' pass rush was non-existent last night as well as there were only two QB hits by the Jets' defensive lineman.
It was a game of keep-away for the 49ers as they controlled the time of possession for 38:40 which is almost two and one-half quarters. 49ers Brock Purdy even seemed to not have a stain on his jersey because of all of the time he had in the pocket. There's a lot to fix on a short week for this Jets' defense, but they're not the only ones to blame for this lack of production.
Robert Saleh was out-coached
Part of the reason why the 49ers have been a well-oiled machine over the last 5 years is because of their head coach Kyle Shanahan. Not only is he an offensive genius, but he's been able to utilize players such as Purdy, and even last night with Mason who aren't the most talented.
Jets' head coach Robert Saleh is simply in another weight class when it comes to coaching versus Shanahan and unfortunately, he was beaten at his own strength. This was the first game in Saleh's time as the Jets' head coach where he's had a competent QB under center and was given a lead to play with after the Breece Hall touchdown in the first quarter. Nevertheless, Shanahan took advantage of the weak run-stop interior of the Jets' defensive line and ran them into submission.
Saleh had mentioned after the game how the 49ers beat them up front, but it's the way the 49ers overmatched them in the run and passing game that's concerning. Just for an idea of how bad the Jets' defense was last night, Hall fumbled on the second drive of the game for the Jets' and from there on out, the 49ers' proceeded to score on a whopping eight consecutive drives.
There's no excuse for Saleh as he has the talent on the defense to be able to disrupt the QB. Saleh's 4-3 defensive scheme is predicated on getting after the QB and there was virtually none of it by the interior or the edges. He'll have a bunch to clean up after a disappointing week 1, but if the defensive line still has trouble in the coming weeks there could be a bigger issue at hand.
Rodgers and Co. left healthy
One of the biggest factors about this Jets' team being successful in 2024 is health. When it comes to health, the immediate focus for last night's game was on Jets QB Aaron Rodgers. After the way 2023 went down for the four-time NFL MVP with a devastating Achilles injury, the NFL world was watching to see how Rodgers would perform .
A silver lining in a brutal loss for the Jets' is that their QB got through the entire game healthy, got knocked down a few times but got up, and still looked like he could play at a high level even at age 40. Rodgers spoke postgame about how he felt physically after playing his first full game since 2022 saying "Yeah, it's been a while, I felt great."
Rodgers' good health was one of the themes of yesterday's game, but other players were nicked throughout the night. Gardner seemed to have hurt his shoulder after making a great behind-the-line-of-scrimmage tackle on 49ers WR Deebo Samuel. The superstar CB was then curiously out for nine straight snaps just standing on the sideline but according to Saleh had to "catch his breath".
Nickel corner Michael Carter II injured his ankle mid-game as well and did not return to the game. Saleh said that Carter II could have returned to the game, but they held him out as a precaution. Defensive captain C.J. Mosley had also gotten banged up, limping off the field but quickly returned to the game.
Although there were some injury scares on the defensive unit last night, everyone seems to have left the game in good health.
More New York Jets News:
• Jets' two key offseason WR additions complete non-factors in season opener
• Jets sign former Vikings' All-Pro kick returner
• Jets make three 2023 draft picks inactive for season opener vs. 49ers
• Jets add former Packers' center, Dolphins' linebacker to active roster
• Head coach confident in Jets' pass rush, unfazed by star DE holdout
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