The 49ers are 1-0. They controlled their Monday Night Football opener against the Jets for the entire second half and won 32-19, never allowing New York to score in the final 35 minutes of the game.
Jordan Mason replaced Christian McCaffrey, who missed the game with a calf/Achilles injury that has lingered since early August, and paced the 49ers, rushing for 147 yards on 28 carries, the most times he’s run the ball since high school.
Jake Moody shot 6 of 6, including a 53-yarder. The 49ers won the turnover battle thanks to a first-half fumble forced by Fred Warner and recovered by Maliek Collins and a third-quarter interception deflected by Deommodore Lenoir and caught by Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles.
Brock Purdy finished 19 of 29 passing for 321 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown or an interception. Aaron Rodgers threw a pass on each side for the Jets, finishing 13 of 21 passing for 167 yards.
The Niners scored on eight of 10 possessions, punting only on their opening drive and kneeling to end the game.
Here’s what they had to say after the win:
Kyle Shanahan
On Mason starting in McCaffrey’s absence:
I never told Jordan he was going to start. I told him he had to be ready a lot of times, but maybe it was Bobby or someone trying to motivate him, but I knew he was going to have to play a lot. I told him he was going to have to do it and he was going to be like he always was: he was going to be a No. 2 guard who was going to split most of the time.
On McCaffrey’s injury:
Same thing that bothered him all week. There was too much of it today. Game-time decision. I thought it would be smart to keep him out and I’m glad I did.
In the off-season:
I’m with our team every day, so I know there’s a lot of articles in the papers and stuff about holdouts and stuff like that, and when are people coming back? But our guys have been great in practice. They’ve been very focused. Anytime guys don’t practice a lot, you know, I wish we could have more. So I wanted to integrate more with these guys that just came in this week, but being able to do four practices with them, having an extra day, things like that, it was great for them.
On defense:
I was really happy watching the defense from the sidelines. I mean, they were running and hitting. That’s what stands out the most. They made a couple of big plays on us and a couple of drives that got them moving. But for the most part, I thought we were winning most of the downs.
About Purdy:
He looked very, very good. I mean, there were a lot of plays he left out. I thought he made some big plays. Toward the end, you
On how Mason seized his opportunity:
I think Jordan has always been the same. Not just Christian, but we lost a number of guards. The cool thing about JP is he was in such good shape coming into camp, that when a lot of guys go down and a guy has to put in a little extra effort in practice, the next thing you worry about is him going down.
On mood and comfort with the 50 meters:
That’s the difference with Jake. He’s got a big leg and I’ve got a number and a spot where we can try. I don’t really think it’s that much different, whether it’s 50 or 47, I don’t think it’s that big of a difference for him.
On Mason’s growth:
I think a lot of it is just getting used to Bobby (Turner) coaching him, realizing that he’s not always angry – he just stays that way, and kind of learning and appreciating that. I think Jordan has really pushed himself every year, just in the way he works off the court, getting in better shape. He’s never been out of shape, but we have guys in our building – like Christian, guys like Fred, Juice, George, guys who are very obsessive about how they train, how they condition, how they eat, how they sleep. And I think those things have really rubbed off on JP over the years.
About Aiyuk and Williams:
I think they did a good job. I’m glad they came out of it healthy.
Brock Purdy
On the offensive:
There are things that we could all probably do a little bit better, myself included, just the speed of live streaming and getting everyone together, connecting everything together: teams, movements, operations, going against the grain, finding ways to break free and be on time. There’s just this sense of urgency.
About Mason:
Obviously Christian is the best running back in the league and what he does – not to take anything away from him – but I think JP has done a good job of coming in and filling his void and doing his job to allow other guys to step up and allow us to run our offense.
On the turbulence of the off-season:
We’ve been through a lot as a team, just with the recruiting, the recovery, the Ricky and Christian situation… there’s a lot going on. It’s the NFL, you know, crazy things can happen. But our culture, our team, what we stand for and how we all come together and find ways to win and rally around each other, we do that here.
On field goals:
I’m happy for Moody, but yeah, for us as an offense, it’s like, man, we want to score touchdowns.
Fred Warner
About Sorensen:
He called it a very good match. I like the way he approaches preparation, the way he leads our group.
When hitting the ball:
It’s something I practice all the time. I try to do everything I can to help our team win games. I know how important it is to win the ball back.
About Mason:
He chose to work out here with me and some of the other linebackers — Flann and Curtis. And you know, we compete here. Even in the offseason, I saw him with a different mindset, thinking he’d be ready for his moment when it came.
On whether Rodgers looked like himself:
Absolutely, he still has that veteran side that can spot us offsides and throw a touchdown down the field. Classic Aaron. Obviously they have some things to work out, but at least they got him.
On the defensive mindset:
I think defensively, it’s our job to win games defensively. It doesn’t matter what we’ve got offensively. I think if we keep that mindset and have a dominant offense, that’s when we really crush teams.
Deebo Samuel
On when he heard about McCaffrey:
Actually, earlier today we got the news and that’s where we went from there.
On how he learned:
Kyle came to me and he said, ‘You’re going to contribute a little bit to the running game,’ and you know me, I’m all about anything that helps the team win.
On whether he had a moment of appreciation for Aiyuk and Williams:
I’ve had this conversation every day in practice. I mean we’re in the game now, so there’s no need to go back to what could have happened. They’re here now and we’re just moving forward.
On whether he is surprised by the 32 points:
No, I’m never surprised by our offense and, you know, the position our defense puts us in.
Jordan Mason
About the game:
This is just the beginning.
On when he found out he was starting:
This question is why I’m angry. This is why I don’t like to talk to the media because you say one thing wrong and then, you know… I don’t know, drop this question.
On what his TD meant:
My family was there, it meant everything.
On preparing for the off-season:
I did a lot of different things. I caught the ball more often, I did more conditioning. That’s it.
On whether McCaffrey gave him advice on the field:
He did it. Keep doing it to me.
Nick Bosa
At the start:
I’m really proud of the way we played with energy and Fred making that play early kind of set the tone.
On Aiyuk and Williams’ absence from camp:
Our management really takes care of us and you have to do that when you have really good players, and we have really good players in all positions. When the players are not here, I mean, we support them. We know when they come back, they’re going to give it their all.
On Maliek Collins, the last player to come on and play well:
It’s a tribute to Kyle and John and all the scouts, who found players that fit us and fit our culture. You really have no choice when you walk into that building not to try hard and play Niners football.
On Leonard Floyd and Maliek Collins’ early career:
People think he’s smaller and skinnier that he can’t run, but he’s extremely explosive, so he can really run the way we need him to run. His top-end speed, he’s proven that throughout his career. And then Maliek, he’s just a beast in the running game. Big, big guy, and if he can do that all year long, then we’ll be in good shape.
Trent Williams
What makes this team impervious to outside noise:
We have great leaders in this locker room and we have people who follow leaders, and we have leaders who echo what the coaches preach.
About Mason:
Every time he touched the ball, in my memory, he looked like that, he looked like he did tonight. Obviously, he’s become a little bit more professional, but I’m sure he’s grown in the last couple of years, but I don’t see any obvious signs that he’s matured. Like he’s come in mature enough and he’s always ready to take that opportunity.
Arriving cold:
It was an uncharted time for me. I’ve never been in a situation where I didn’t have the luxury of being able to work off the rust in camp. I’ve never come back from six months off, seven months off and just during game week, you know what I mean. Obviously, I’ve played a lot of football, so I knew it was coming back for the game, I didn’t know how long it was going to take… You can’t replicate the exhaustion that you put yourself through in a football game, especially as an offensive lineman – like pushing a truck every play. So honestly, I didn’t know what to expect tonight.
About Dominick Puni:
I’m delighted to come back and watch the game and see how he did. He played well, obviously. We all, as a group, ran the ball pretty well.
On running the ball early in the game against a strong Jets defensive line:
We want to run them side to side, bring JP down like he did, and I think the game plan worked perfectly.
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