It would be easy to call everyone on the 49ers a winner after last night's destruction of the New York Jets, but I'll do my best to try and split hairs.
Winners
Jordan Mason
When Christian McCaffrey was ruled out shortly before kickoff, the 49ers' fanbase collectively gasped. How could they move the ball against this vaunted Jets' defense without CMC?
Turns out the answer is give Jordan Mason the rock and get the hell out of the way. Mason carried the ball 28 times - more than any 49ers' running back in a regular season game in 13 years!
He's been waiting forever to be featured as the lead back, and he did not disappoint. He dodged tacklers, he ran through tacklers, and his 147 yards helped the 49ers put the Jets in a stranglehold from which they could not escape.
Here's how good it was for Mason last night:
McCaffrey's status for Week 2 in Minnesota is up in the air right now, but the 49ers have to feel better about their prospects after Mason steamrolled the Jets in prime time.
The 49ers' Offensive Line
There's no question Mason was great last night, but he had some help in a big way.
I mention's Jordan Mason's 147 yards on the ground, but what I didn't tell you is that 64% of those yards came before contact. Mason ran for 94 yards before a single Jets defender touched him last night, which is a massive feather in the cap of Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, and Colton McKivitz.
(The fact that Trent Williams dominated without any training camp or preseason is even more incredible, but I digress)
When it comes to pass protection, the line was equally as impressive, posting a sparkling 96.1% pass block win rate as a unit. Let me say that again: The entire offensive line had a pass block win rate of 96% against one of the best defenses in football. Usually that's just Trent's grade, but in Week 1 the entire line played like Trent Williams.
Mooney Ward
There's a saying in sports that if you don't notice the officials, they've done a good job. The same applies to cornerbacks. I can't recall hearing Joe Buck and Troy Aikman talk about Mooney Ward a single time during the game, and yet:
Ward lined up on the defense’s left side on 50 of his 51 snaps. That's a lockdown performance if there ever was one. Perfect timing for him in a contract year.
Losers
Brandon Aiyuk
Trent Williams didn't show any rust whatsoever, but the same cannot be said for Brandon Aiyuk.
The 49ers' WR1 was catching the ball with his body, and simply didn't look like the player we've come to know and love. He also let a dime from Brock Purdy slip through his hands in the back corner of the end zone.
Peyton Manning was particularly fired up about that one.
Plenty of time for Aiyuk to round back into form, but he clearly wasn't at his best in Week 1.
Kyle Shanahan's 4th down decision-making
I fully admit I'm splitting hairs here. Shanahan's gameplan for the Jets was excellent. He lost his best skill position player and still put up 32 points on a good defense. I want to make sure I'm clear that he is an incredible coach and I'm grateful he's leading this franchise.
That said, his continues to pucker up almost any time the 49ers are facing a fourth down.
Last night, the Niners faced a 4th & 1 at the Jets' 5 yard line. The score was 26-13. Despite dominating the line of scrimmage all night long, and despite the fact that a touchdown would have made it a three-score game, Kyle Shanahan kicked a 23 yard field goal that kept a two score game a two score game.
Is this a problem is most of the time? No. The 49ers are flat-out better than almost every other team in the NFL. Where this will show up is in the playoffs and the Super Bowl.
You can't always count on a defense that's playing well to continue playing that well. Especially against great quarterbacks. The Super Bowl was a perfect example of this. The 49ers dominated the Chiefs early in the game, holding them to 3 points in the first half. In the second half, Mahomes scored points on five out of their last six possessions.
When you have a chance to step on a team's throat, you have to do it. Guys get injured. Offenses make adjustments. Don't leave it up to chance, Kyle. Could the 49ers have failed to convert? Of course. But even if that happened, the Jets would taken over at their own 5 yard line. If they drive down the field and get a TD in that spot, tip your cap and move on.
Kicking the field goal makes it easier for the Jets to get back in the game because one touchdown drive puts them in position to make it a one score game. If you're confident enough in your defense to prevent that from happening, you should be confident enough in them to stop the Jets after a failed conversion.
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