49ers 32, Jets 19
Who’s to say whether this Jets team will become the cuspy second-tier contender promised a year ago on an HBO reality show or the depressing also-ran potato they’ve been for much of the past two decades? All we know at the moment is that this team has an excellent defense and was 7-10 last year with a cheesecloth offensive line and a freshman squad quarterback room. So while questions remain about their ceiling, this Jets squad should at least be a better version of last year’s. And after an off-season of long drawn-out contract negotiations, it was nice to see the Niners come out of the gates with a solid, throwback win.
OFFENSE
D = m/v. After Jordan Mason’s breakout first start, George Kittle referred to him (in the most endearing way) as “dense,” as if our young sledgehammer’s atoms are packed so tightly that there’s no room in them for shoestring tackles, running out of bounds, or any other tomfoolery such as defensive backs. Which…
Fair.
For Niners fans, Mason’s emergence wasn’t particularly surprising. Since he showed up as a UDFA two years ago, he’s rushed for 400+ yards on 5.6 ypc and was actually PFF’s highest rated RB over that time span–in part because his microscopic sample size was limited to doing exactly what he did on Monday: run through faces. But Mason has improved greatly this off-season–particularly in the passing game–and is now able to showcase that in greater snaps.
Who knows how long CMC is out. Achilles injuries have taken away two Bay Area championships in the very recent past, so–by all means–let him rest as much as needed. We’re in good hands until he returns.
Hype Train Activated. Only a traumatized man would crank out highlights of a rookie right guard after one week of play. I am that man.
Puni was regarded as smart, versatile, and strong in pass protection out of college. He’s been all of that, allowing just one hurry in 34 dropbacks on Monday. But his ability and strength in the run game were on full display in his NFL debut. It’s still early, but we might have a dude. And at a position where not having a dude has really REALLY hurt us deep in the playoffs.
Chips Ahoy. Our offense is at its best and most explosive when we’re running wild on the ground and generating chunk plays attacking the middle of the field. When it’s working, that mix of ground-n-pound and dumping passes over confused defenders’ heads is poetry in motion. But sometimes we get greedy trying to set up intermediate passes and catch-and-runs when all we need to do is move the chains.
Which is why—even though it wasn’t our sexiest or most explosive outing—it was nice to see a patient, methodical passing attack that largely targeted the outside alleys and wasn’t afraid to take easy, quick completions against soft coverage. To be fair, Purdy still dropped some dimes over second-level defenders, and we still hard-targeted players in coverage (the Jets’ two starting safeties combined to allow 5-of-5 completions for 106 yards), but Purdy’s spray chart shows how heavily we operated outside of the middle of the field.
We weren’t forcing YAC yard plays against a defense that was expecting them. We weren’t holding the ball too long to get that perfect long-developing strike over the linebackers and exposing ourselves to a potent pass rush. There will be some games where defenses play us conservatively and crowd the middle of the field in pass coverage. When that happens, a little patience–both from Shanahan and from Purdy–could be exactly what we need.
Double Duty Deebo. Slimmed down and rocking #1, Deebo’s impact far outweighed his modest stat line (8 carries for 23 yards and 1 TD, and 5 catches for 54 yards), especially because we weren’t putting him in many easy YAC situations. It would have been nice if he’d been able to create more separation and secure more of those tightly contested slant routes, but Deebo looks good, and the longer CMC is out, the more important his play will be–especially early in the season as Aiyuk gets his sea legs.
I also love Deebo returning kicks in the new kickoff format. Now teams must decide whether to boot the ball into the endzone and allow our offense to take over on the 30-yard line or attempt to pin us to the 20 by kicking it into the landing zone and risking a return from the world’s most dangerous man with the ball in his hands. I expect many teams will just spot us the ten yards.
Holdout Holdovers. Both of our long holdout guys had moments of rust. Trent Williams’ was seen mostly when he had to get pulled for an IV on a 4th-and-1 we otherwise may have gone for. Otherwise, he played great.
The same can’t be said for Aiyuk.
As much as I was NOT a fan of his prolonged contract negotiation, I AM a fan of Aiyuk, but once you start making $30M a year you need to be able to take over a game when your number is called. This matchup against the Jets and their elite outside corner duo was never going to be that game, but–when Aiyuk had a chance to step up–he looked rusty and fatigued–particularly in the string of plays around his drop in the endzone. Hopefully, he can get back into game shape quickly as we’re sure to need him at the peak of his powers as the season goes on.
DEFENSE
New Faces, Familiar Results. One week in, the new guys along the defensive line certainly look like savvy additions. Leonard Floyd recorded his first sack as a Niner and had a QB pressure that led to Flannigan-Fowles’ interception. He doesn’t seem like the fanciest or the flashiest edge rusher, but he’s a grinder on the edge who wins with relentlessness. Opposite Bosa, that consistency is what’s the most important.
On the interior, neither Maliek Collins or Jordan Elliott brought what a healthy Arik Armstead does as a two-way threat, but both were strong against the run and Elliott flashed a little pass rush potential in registering a QB hit. Collins had 5 sacks and 18 QB hits last season, so he’s the one we should be expecting to round into a pass rusher as he gets settled. Anything we can get in that regard from Elliott will just be icing on the cake.
As for new DC Nick Sorensen, this game was not the biggest test. But, the defense played sound (13 points allowed if we disregard deep garbage time) and he showed the ability to make adjustments when needed.
On this third down on their first scoring drive, the Jets have diagnosed that we’re in a Cover 4 trips adjustment where the near linebacker (Warner) high-walls and runs with the No.3 receiver if he goes vertical. So to exploit this they send that No.3 receiver on a clear-out and have the No.1 break into the vacated space underneath.
DeVondre Campbell gets stuck in no man’s land, and the Jets get an easy completion for a first down.
A few drives later, the Jets once again go to trips on third down, and—after motioning their tight end into a bunch formation and seeing how our DB (Renardo Green) follows him—Rodgers checks into a mesh concept meant to run off the defender on the No.3 receiver to free up space for the No.1 receiver underneath.
While this isn’t the same concept, it’s similar in how it’s trying to vacate space with the No.3 receiver to open up the No.1 underneath. But we’re not in man coverage or the quarters adjustment we were in earlier, we’re in a funky rotation of Cover 3.
So when Rodgers snaps the ball and looks to the trip side No.1 receiver, he notices he’s running into—rather than away from—a waiting defender. The same goes for the second shallow coming from the top of the frame.
By the time his third read maybe comes open, Rodgers is already halfway to the ground as our pass rush has gotten home.
This isn’t full-blown, hacking-the-mainframe, DeMeco Ryans telepathy-level stuff, but it’s nice to see our new DC diagnose what the Jets are doing and adjust quickly and effectively to take it away.
Campbell’s Coverage. But it wasn’t all roses for the Niners’ new faces on defense. DeVondre Campbell had an up-and-down debut and got picked on quite a bit in coverage, especially on the Jets’ one long touchdown drive. Campbell had some issues with positioning–sometimes dropping too shallow and other times too narrow–and the Jets dink-and-dunked him for 5 of 6 completions for 38 yards.
This will be something to monitor moving forward. We’ve been lucky with Warner and Greenlaw, but there’s no longer a Kwon Alexander or Azeez Al-Shaair to fill in while Greenlaw’s out rehabbing. Perhaps when Dee Winters returns from injury he could provide a spark, but most likely we’ll have to hope Campbell improves with more reps in our defense.
Money Moody. Yes, he had a 53-yarder luckily doink inside the left upright, but Moody was an otherwise automatic 6-of-6 on field goals, with three boots over 45 yards, continuing his strong play through the off-season. Rookie kickers are rarely that good, so here’s hoping that Moody has figured it out and is a mainstay for us for the next decade.
Next Up: Sunday (9/15) @ Minnesota Vikings , 10:00 AM PT
As you may have heard, the Niners play eight games against teams with a rest advantage. Their four games against teams coming off byes and their -32 gross rest days are both the worst since 1990, while their -21 net rest days are the worst in the league for the second year in a row. The first of those games is this Sunday.
Despite a boner-killing preseason injury to first-round quarterback JJ McCarthy, the 2024 debut of a rejuvenated Sam Darnold under QB whisperer Kevin O’Connell made for an impressively efficient week 1 showing and a 28-6 victory over a NY Giants team that will likely compete with the Panthers for this year’s award of shittiest piece of shit on the shit heap.
Aaron Jones is a massive upgrade over the “scrubs by committee” approach Minnesota employed last year at the running back position, and—even without the currently injured TJ Hockenson—this is a talented offense led by a great offensive mind. If DeVondre Campbell is gonna be a problem for us, we’re likely to find that out as soon as this Sunday. When the Vikings are on defense, expect a whole lot of blitzing and a mix of man coverage and two high zones behind it.
This isn’t the most talented roster, but it’s a cohesive and well-coached one. The pieces they have fit within the schemes they employ, and that–along with a short week and a morning kickoff after an east coast road trip–has the potential makings of a trap game if we don’t approach it properly.
Go Niners 🏈👍