Aaron Rodgers made his season debut Monday night at San Francisco, returning to game action after an Achilles tendon tear limited his first Jets' season to four plays. Rodgers threw a touchdown and led 2 TD drives, but the 49ers, playing without injured star RB Christian McCaffrey, played like the NFC defending champions in a convincing 32-193 victory.
The Jets finished -2 in turnover margin and the Niners controlled the ball throughout, scoring on each of their final eight possessions while rushing for 181 yards. With McCaffrey on the sideline, Jordan Mason turned in a career performance, amassing 147 yards on 28 carries with 1 TD as HC Kyle Shanahan's club totaled 401 yards.
"Credit to them," HC Robert Saleh said. "They executed a lot better than we did. We have to be better."
Rodgers (13-21-167-1TD-1INT) tried to will the Jets back into the game in the third quarter. Faced with a 26-7 deficit, he uncorked a perfect pass to Allen Lazard down the visiting sideline for 26 yards. Then the master of the free play drew Leonard Floyd offside before going back to Lazard for a 36-yard TD. After a failed 2-point attempt, the Jets had inched closer, 26-13. It was Rodgers' 18th TD pass on a free play and the 476th of his Hall of Fame career.
The only things that stopped Rodgers in the first quarter were a Lazard third-down drop and a Breece Hall fumble. On the Jets' third possession, Rodgers looked vintage and led a 12-play, 70-yard scoring drive that culminated on Hall's 3-yard TD. He connected on 7 of 8 for 60 yards and was masterful on third down, keeping the chains moving with 16-, 14- and 8-yard gains to Garrett Wilson on third-and-8, third-and-7 and third-and-7, respectively. Hall's TD gave the Jets a 7-3 lead with 3:37 left in the opening stanza.
With both clubs exchanging momentum early, the 49ers turned to the punishing ground game on a 12-play march that ended with Deebo Samuel's 2-yard score as home team grabbed a 13-7 lead. Minus McCaffrey, the Niners were able to get great production from Mason, a powerful third-year back who established a career high with 74 yards on his first 11 carries. The 49ers totaled 210 yards in the first half and scored on their final four possessions as they grabbed a 16-7 lead at intermission.
All the best game photos from the Monday Night Football matchup in San Francisco.
The Jets' final two possessions in the second quarter resulted in threes-and-outs and 5 yards. Hall was limited to 25 yards on his first 10 attempts.
"We had the three-and-outs that really hurt us," Rodgers said. "But I think a lot of stuff is correctible which is great for the coaches. It's frustrating for players because we know how close we were/are."
"They played keep away," Saleh added. "I felt like our offense never had a chance to get into rhythm. The first drive had a chance to extend it and I thought Allen had a really good game minus the first third down and then we had the fumble on the second drive. Then we had the really nice drive and then from there it felt like forever before our offense held the ball again. I feel like offensively we did a lot of really nice things especially for Aaron in his first game back."
The 49ers got a pair of Jake Moody field goals (46 and 51) sandwiched around Hall's TD. Linebacker Fred Warner forced the opening turnover and Maliek Collins recovered for the Niners, setting up Moody's first connection in the opening quarter. Then he made it a 1-point game early in the second quarter. His third field goal – a 31-yarder – put the Jets deficit at nine points heading into the second half.
The Niners took a commanding advantage as Mason ended a grinding 11-play, 70-yard march with a 5-yard TD to open the third quarter. Trailing 2by 3-7, Rodgers tried to hit Wilson, but cornerback Deommodore Lenoir got his hand in for a deflection and LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles intercepted a pass in plus-territory. The second San Francisco takeaway set up Moody's fourth field goal from 53 yards. He tacked on a 23-yard chip shot to make it 29-13 contest with 9:43 remaining.
Any hopes for a comeback ended when Rodgers was unable to hook up with Wilson on a fourth-and-1 play from midfield. Backup Tyrod Taylor took the game's final snaps for the Green & White as Rodgers' night was done with 4:20 remaining. Taylor, in his 13th season, ended the scoring with a 4-yard toss to Lazard.
Jetcetera
Safety Tony Adams led the Jets in tackles with 12 stops and he also was credited with 1 sack and 1 PD. … LB C.J. Mosley (9 tackles) and CB Sauce Gardner (3 tackles, 1 sack) missed time in the second quarter, but they both finished the game. … Allen Lazard's 89 yards and 2 TDs were his best as a Jet …. The Jets finished 6 of 10 on third down while the Niners went 6 of 13. The Jets departed Santa Clara, CA, after the game and are scheduled to return early Tuesday morning. They'll have a short week to prepare for Sunday's road date with the Titans (0-1) in Nashville.
