The New York Jets got punched in the face by the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, September 9.
Head coach Robert Saleh was asked after the game about his leaky run defense which allowed 180 total rushing yards.
“Credit to them like I said that’s a championship outfit and they introduced us to some championship football. We will get that [expletive] fixed,” Saleh fired back at a media member.
The Jets lost 32-19 to the 49ers to end Week 1 of the NFL regular season.
Jets Blew a Golden Opportunity in the Season Opener
The Jets received a gift from the football Gods an hour or so before the game.
The 49ers made superstar running back Christian McCaffrey inactive. The calf/Achilles issue hadn’t fully healed from the offseason and they surprisingly gave him the night off.
In a poll voted on by the players, McCaffrey was named the No. 3 best player in the NFL heading into the season. He is the highest-paid running back in football and is clearly the straw that stirs the drink for San Fran.
However with him out of the lineup, that dramatically increased the chances of a Jets victory. Despite that apparent gift, it quickly turned into a nightmare.
Jordan Mason, 25, originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2022 out of Georgia Tech. Up until this point, he had never started an NFL game in his career.
That inexperience didn’t seem to hurt him against the Jets defense. It was gash after gash after gash as the 49ers ran it up, down, left, and right all over the Jets.
He finished the day with a career-high 147 rushing yards averaging 5.3 yards per clip.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini noted on social media that “94 of his 147” rushing yards came “before contact.” Which means the Jets defense wasn’t getting any hands on him because the 49ers’ offensive line was blowing them off the ball.
Other Top Highlights From Jets vs. 49ers Game
There weren’t many highlights for the Jets in a game in which they were outmatched physically, but there were some.
Who had Allen Lazard catching multiple touchdown passes on opening night on their bingo card? Consider this: Lazard has more touchdown receptions in one game in 2024 than he did throughout the entire 2023 season.
He finished the day with six receptions for 89 yards and those two aforementioned touchdowns.
Rodgers baited the 49ers offsides and he took full advantage finding a streaking Lazard for the 36-yard score.
The official NFL X previously Twitter account said, “FREE PLAY KING AARON RODGERS 👑.”
Rodgers developed a reputation when he was with the Green Bay Packers that he could get the opponent to jump offsides and take advantage with a free play.
Cimini revealed that Rodgers has 18 such passing touchdowns on “free plays” during his 20-year career in the NFL. The next closest person on that list is veteran Joe Flacco who only has six.
Those are plays Rodgers became synonymous with during his time with the Packers. It flashed a glimmer of hope that Rodgers still has it which should be the silver lining coming out of this game.
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