On Tuesday, coach Kyle Shanahan said star running back Christian McCaffrey would have played in the San Francisco 49ers’ opener had the game been a pivotal January affair instead of a Week 1 game in September.
“Definitely, I believe if it was a playoff game, he would’ve played,” said Shanahan, adding that McCaffrey told him as much in the run-up to Monday’s game against the New York Jets.
Shanahan also shed more light on McCaffrey’s calf injury, saying it involved Achilles tendonitis, which has flared up from time to time over the last month. McCaffrey hasn’t gone through a full practice since Aug. 4 and was limited in last week’s training sessions.
“That stuff comes and goes,” Shanahan said. “When it is acting up, it’s something you’ve got to be very careful about. Christian’s very diligent about that stuff. … But when you hear that type of stuff and it’s not a playoff game and it’s Week 1, and especially when you’re dealing with the lower extremities like that, it was a tough decision. But hearing all the words and stuff, in the long run, it made it easy.”
He characterized McCaffrey as “day to day” heading into Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.
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Of course, the 49ers didn’t need McCaffrey against the Jets. They had 38 runs, rolled up 180 rushing yards and controlled the ball for 38:40 during the 32-19 win. The lopsided time of possession also meant their offense was on the field for 72 snaps versus just 51 for the defense.
Here are the individual snap counts as well as some injury updates for players other than McCaffrey …
Quarterback: Brock Purdy 71, Brandon Allen 1
It wasn’t a highlight-reel game for Purdy, but it was a mature one. The only way the Jets could have come back was through turnovers, and Purdy never put the ball at risk. He was especially efficient on medium-depth throws, going 2-of-2 on the left, 1-of-1 on the right and 4-of-4 over the middle, the sweet spot for the 49ers’ passing attack.
After the game, Purdy said he thought the passing game was a bit out of sync (which wasn’t surprising with McCaffrey out), that Brandon Aiyuk is still rounding into form and that Deebo Samuel played a lot of snaps at running back to compensate for McCaffrey.
“There’s just that sense of urgency that I think we can be a little bit better with,” Purdy said. “I think we found that as the game went on, but (I) definitely feel like we could all still get better.”
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Running back: Jordan Mason 58, Kyle Juszczyk (fullback) 40, Samuel 10, Isaac Guerendo 3
Mason’s 28 carries were the most for a 49ers runner since Frank Gore had 31 for 134 yards in a win over the Cleveland Browns in 2011. That underscores the type of throwback game it was for San Francisco.
Along those lines, Samuel had his most carries, eight, since the 2022 season opener, which was very much the pre-McCaffrey era. The most carries Samuel has had since McCaffrey’s arrival? Five in last year’s win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Finally, Juszczyk had former teammate Isaiah Oliver lined up for a big hit on this dump-off to Samuel in the third quarter. A huge hit, however, could have led to a penalty and an injury to Oliver, and Juszczyk instead pulled up and merely got in Oliver’s way to keep him from making the tackle. The fullback received a karmic reward for his restraint later in the drive when he hauled in a 34-yard pass from Purdy, the 49ers’ longest play of the game.
Bravo to Kyle Juszczyk for showing restraint on this play and not annihilating former teammate Isaiah Oliver. Juszczyk merely got in the way and was karmic-ly rewarded later in the drive with a 34-yard catch, the longest of the game for SF. pic.twitter.com/pGPPkm8tSv
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) September 10, 2024
Receiver: Samuel 43, Aiyuk 43, Jauan Jennings 35, Chris Conley 29, Ronnie Bell 13
Samuel and Aiyuk spent a lot of time on the sideline. Samuel needed breaks because he was doubling as a running back and kick returner. Aiyuk needed rest because he’s still ramping up his stamina after sitting out all of the spring and summer practices. He had a chance to win back the fan base with what would have been a diving touchdown grab in the second quarter — similar to the one he had in Philadelphia last season — but couldn’t come up with the catch.
As was the case in the 49ers’ most recent game of consequence, the Super Bowl, the star receiver was Jennings, who caught all five of his targets, four of them for first downs, and led the team with 64 receiving yards. Shanahan said Jennings was day to day with an ankle injury he exacerbated in the game.
It was a bit surprising that in a game full of jet sweeps and quick tosses to Samuel, his understudy, Jacob Cowing, didn’t get a single offensive snap. The 49ers wanted to get the Jets defense moving laterally, and Cowing would have done that as well as anyone on the offense. Conley and Bell played a lot, but because it was such a run-heavy game, they didn’t get any targets.
Tight end: George Kittle 66, Eric Saubert 19, Jake Tonges 1
The standout was Saubert, who helped the 49ers running game get rolling on the third offensive series. Saubert went in motion on the second snap of the drive and took out edge rusher Will McDonald, while right guard Dominick Puni sealed off the inside. Mason gained 13 yards on the play, his first big run of the game, and it was all downhill (running) from there.
Saubert’s 19 snaps, 26 percent of the total, were in keeping with what Charlie Woerner, now in Atlanta, received last year. Saubert, however, also got a target in the passing game. Woerner was only targeted three times last season. Saubert also led the team with 25 snaps on special teams.
This 13-yard run by Jordan Mason at the end of the first quarter seemed to get SF’s running game going. TE Eric Saubert went in motion and sealed off the right. G Dominick Puni did the same on the left and Mason did some Mason-like tenderizing up the middle. pic.twitter.com/AZ9M8uTbkO
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) September 10, 2024
Offensive line: Puni 72, Colton McKivitz 72, Jake Brendel 71, Trent Williams 70, Aaron Banks 56, Spencer Burford 16, Jaylon Moore 2, Nick Zakelj 1
Puni and Williams were Week 1 question marks because Puni is a rookie and Williams only arrived in Santa Clara a week before the game.
The conclusion afterward: no worries. Williams did have to leave late to get an IV — he said even his tongue was cramping up on him — but he didn’t look rusty at all when he was on the field. Puni, meanwhile, gave up one quarterback pressure and was strong as a run blocker. Most of the 49ers’ big runs went to the right behind him and McKivitz, and McKivitz had a nice pancake on Samuel’s touchdown run.
Shanahan said Banks, who was kicked in the calf and suffered a contusion, is day to day heading into the Vikings game.
Defensive line: Nick Bosa 48, Maliek Collins 37, Leonard Floyd 34, Javon Hargrave 32, Kevin Givens 18, Jordan Elliott 15, Sam Okuayinonu 14, Robert Beal Jr. 6
Bosa was primarily a left edge rusher on Monday, lining up on that side on 38 of his snaps. Bosa (5) and his new bookend, Floyd (4), combined for nine of San Francisco’s 11 quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Focus. Hargrave and Elliot had one apiece.
Floyd’s sack was his 11th on Aaron Rodgers in his career. That’s the most for any active player against an active quarterback, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Okuayinonu, elevated from the practice squad due to Yetur Gross-Matos’ knee injury, had a tackle on his first snap and finished with two in just four plays. Shanahan said Gross-Matos and linebacker Dee Winters (ankle) had rehab sessions Tuesday afternoon. He said both could return to practice this week if Tuesday’s session went well.
Linebacker: Fred Warner 51, De’Vondre Campbell 51, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles 12.
Warner set the defensive tone by making tackles on four of the Jets’ first eight offensive plays. One of them forced a fumble by Breece Hall that set up the 49ers’ initial field goal.
The other two linebackers? Campbell received a lowly 50.9 grade for run defense from PFF while Flannigan-Fowles’ was 46.4. Campbell is projected to come out of the starting lineup when Dre Greenlaw (Achilles) is back to full speed. At that point, Campbell presumably would become the team’s third linebacker.
Cornerback: Charvarius Ward 51, Deommodore Lenoir 51, Isaac Yiadom 39
One of the game’s best matchups pitted Lenoir, a rising young cornerback, against Garrett Wilson, the Jets’ top receiver. Wilson caught four of six passes for 38 yards in those situations. Most of them, however, were difficult grabs with tight coverage from Lenoir, who in the third quarter deflected a pass to Wilson into the air, leading to an interception by Flannigan-Fowles.
This is a no fly zone 🗜️@Dflann12 x @Dmo_lenoir#NYJvsSF on ESPN pic.twitter.com/hh7sSxsLEk
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 10, 2024
Monday also was a good start for Yiadom, the team’s new No. 3 cornerback. He gave up a late touchdown but had close coverage on that play and throughout the game, including on a fourth-down incompletion to Wilson late.
Safety: Ji’Ayir Brown 51, George Odum 51
There was only one big miscue by Brown, the third-quarter play on which receiver Allen Lazard blew past him for a 36-yard touchdown. Floyd was offside on the snap, so much so that most of the defenders thought the play would be blown dead and were caught flat-footed when it continued.
Even Rodgers was surprised.
“To be honest, I thought they were going to blow the play dead,” the Jets quarterback said. “They do that a lot of times, but I guess it was slow enough to where he was trying to get back.”
Shanahan said Talanoa Hufanga (knee), who was listed as doubtful for the game and did not play, has a chance to play Sunday in Minnesota.
“We won’t make that decision until later in the week, so hopefully he has another good week (of practice),” he said.
Special teams: Saubert 25, Curtis Robinson 18, Flannigan-Fowles 17, Malik Mustapha 17, Renardo Green 17, Jake Moody 17, Tatum Bethune 16, Tonges 16, Conley 16, Rock Ya-Sin 14, Beal 13, Guerendo 10, Mitch Wishnowsky 9, Taybor Pepper 9, McKivitz 8, Puni 8, Moore 8, Zakelj 8, Burford 8, Banks 6, Yiadom 4, Cowing 4, Samuel 3, Juszczyk 3, Odum 2, Brendel 2, Lenoir 1, Warner 1, Campbell 1, Brown 1, Collins 1, Givens 1, Elliott 1, Okuayinonu 1, Patrick Taylor Jr. 1.
Moody’s six field goals tied the franchise record for most field goals in a single game. The others who have kicked six for the 49ers are Ray Wersching (in 1983), Jeff Wilkins (1996) and Robbie Gould (2017).
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(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
