The San Francisco 49ers were surprised to learn on Monday evening that their star running back Christian McCaffrey did not play in the game against the New York Jets.
But his replacement Jordan Mason did not disappoint in his first career start and helped his team to a 32-19 victory, securing a good start to the season.
All eyes were on Aaron Rodgers, who returned to the NFL field after suffering a torn Achilles tendon on the fourth play of the Jets’ Monday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1.
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San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (24) runs during the second quarter against the New York Jets at Levi’s Stadium. (David Gonzales-Images)
But while Rodgers threw his first career touchdown pass in that game, it was Mason who got all the attention on his home turf at Levi’s Stadium. Mason scored his first touchdown as a starter and rushed for a career-high 147 yards on 28 carries.
The Jets’ stingy 2023 defense wasn’t there when the ball was in Mason’s hands as he set the tone early.
After the Jets scored the game’s first touchdown – a three-yard run by Breece Hall on a 12-play drive – Mason got going on the team’s fourth drive. San Fran was able to convert two field goal attempts by Jake Moody, including one after the Jets’ touchdown to make it 7-6, but Mason got going with four consecutive running plays that ultimately gave quarterback Brock Purdy plenty of room to maneuver.
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Mason appeared to score the team’s first touchdown of the year, but Deebo Samuel was flagged for offensive holding during the drive. In fact, it was Samuel who made a jet sweep a few plays later, running the ball in from two yards out – just one play after Mason had taken the ball 11 yards to the Jets’ doorstep.
Mason finally got his touchdown on his team’s opening drive of the second half, an 11-play, 70-yard masterpiece that included a five-yard strike.
With the score at 23-7 after Mason’s goal, the game seemed out of reach, especially after a deflected pass from Rodgers on the next drive landed in the hands of Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, who intercepted a ball.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) warms up before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. (Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images)
But Rodgers’ first touchdown pass couldn’t have come at a better time, as he got a free kick after the 49ers were offside and fired a 36-yard pass to Allen Lazard, his old friend from the Green Bay Packers, to make it 26-13. Hall couldn’t convert the two-point attempt, but at that point it felt more like a game.
However, the 49ers lost almost seven minutes of time on the following drive – yes, Mason played a big part in that – and were able to get another field goal from Moody on the scoreboard.
Moody tied a 49ers record in this game with six field goals in six attempts.
A closer look at the score sheet shows that Purdy finished the game completing 19 of 29 passes for 231 yards. His best receiver was Jauan Jennings with 64 yards on five catches. Samuel also had five catches for 54 yards and ran for 23 yards on eight carries.
San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (left) celebrates with offensive tackle Colton McKivitz (right) after scoring a touchdown against the New York Jets in the third quarter at Levi’s Stadium. (Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images)
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For the Jets, Rodgers completed 13 of 21 passes in what fans will call his true debut, for 167 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
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