Santa Clara – Tonight’s matchup couldn’t be more fitting, as former Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh faces off against his former boss, head coach Kyle Shanahan. Saleh’s New York Jets played the San Francisco 49ers for the first time since he left to coach the Jets in 2021.
Jake Moody kicked six field goals, Jordan Mason had 28 attempts, recorded a career-high 147 yards, and had one touchdown. Mason did not disappoint in his first career start in place of Christian McCaffrey who was a late scratch for tonight’s game due to a calf/Achilles injury. The 49ers demolished the Jets 32-19 in their home opener on Monday night.
“Christian is the best in the league at running back and what he does,” said Brock Purdy. “I’m not taking anything away from that. But I think JP did a good job of coming in and filling his void and doing his job to allow other guys to get open and allow us to run our offense.”
Moody’s 6 field goals marked a career-high and tied the franchise record for the most FGM in a single game. With 6 FGM on the evening, Moody became the 4th kicker in NFL history to register 6 FGM in Week 1, joining former K John Carney [6 FGM vs. Sea. (9/5/93)], Pittsburgh Steelers K Chris Boswell [6 FGM at Atl. (9.8/24)] and former K Jeff Wilkins [6 FGM vs. Den. (9/10/06)].
New York’s defense managed to hold San Francisco’s explosive offense to just a pair of field goals, from 46 and 51 yards, in the first half. However, they couldn’t contain the run game, as Deebo Samuel rushed into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown, making it a 13-7 game.
The Jets turned the ball over early when Fred Warner forced Breece Hall to fumble in the first quarter. The 49ers, unable to capitalize with a touchdown, settled for a 46-yard field goal. Later in the period, Hall responded with a 3-yard rushing touchdown, putting the Jets ahead 7-3. With 0.4 seconds left in the half, Jake Moody kicked his third field goal, this time from 31 yards, extending San Francisco’s lead 16-7.
“We were just bad on first and second down for a lot of the game,” Aaron Rodgers said. “We had a couple of drives where we converted third downs. We had a drop, we had a couple of penalties, had a bad throw. We have a lot to correct, but overall I feel good about our guys and thought the protection was really good tonight.
By the third quarter, San Francisco was in control. Brock Purdy connected with Kyle Juszczyk on a deep 34-yard pass, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by Jordan Mason. Rodgers, who made his season debut after last year’s Achilles tear in week 1 of the season, struggled to find his rhythm. He finished 13-of-21 for 167 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Meanwhile, Purdy completed 19-of-29 passes for 231 yards, and one touchdown.
“They were very efficient on their end in terms of getting rid of the ball pretty quick,” said Jets head coach Saleh. “Never really gave us a chance. There was a lot of third and short, third and fourth, third and five, and third and twos. So, we never really got an opportunity to get after the passer, and the opportunities that we did get a chance to get after the passer they did a good job being efficient hitting his back foot and getting rid of the football. So, credit to them. I thought they executed very well today.”
Rodgers’ short pass intended for Garrett Wilson was tipped by Deommodore Lenoir and recovered by Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. Although the 49ers couldn’t reach the end zone on the ensuing drive, Moody kicked a 53-yard field goal, extending their lead to 26-7. The Jets answered with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Allen Lazard, cutting the deficit to 26-13.
San Francisco’s defense continued to dominate, DL Leonard Floyd registered 2 tackles and 1.0 sack of Jets QB Rodgers on the evening, marking his first sack as a member of the 49ers and giving him 59.0 in his career. His 11.0 sacks of Rodgers are the most of any active player against an active QB in the NFL, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. LB Fred Warner registered 7 tackles and 1 forced fumble on the night, marking his first FF of the season and the 12th of his career.
“Yes. It’s something I practice all the time,” Warner said. “I’m trying to do whatever I can to help our team win games. I know how important it is to take the ball away. We always shoot for three takeaways. We got two, so we need that one extra one going in the next week.”
Photo by 49ers/Twitter
