49ers vs. Jets Monday Night Football: Aaron Rodgers returns, Christian McCaffrey inactive

Posted by Admin September 9, 2024 Football

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The season is just starting, but Monday night might offer a preview of February.

Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets head west to take on Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers in the first matchup of the 2024 “Monday Night Football” slate in Week 1. Both teams are favorites to lift the Lombardi trophy, but 2023 couldn’t have gone any different for either squad.

After an offseason of hope and promise, Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon and missed the entirety of the 2023 season after just four plays as Jets quarterback. While there was a will-he-won’t-he saga of returning, the team ultimately fell short of the playoffs, a bitter end to a season that was dripping in Super Bowl hype.

The 49ers made it to the last game of the season, but again fell just short of a ‘chip, and again it was to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. After navigating some tough contractual waters involving wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and tackle Trent Williams, Kyle Shanahan’s offense seemed whole and ready for ascend to the top of the NFC once again. However, the 49ers will be without one of the NFL’s most dynamic playmakers against the Jets with Christian McCaffrey ruled out.

USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates, highlights and more from the opening matchup of the 2024 “MNF” schedule between the Jets and 49ers.

First quarter

49ers field goal (10:58) — Jake Moody, 46 yards

Jets touchdown (3:51) — Breece Hall, 3-yard run (Greg Zuerlein extra point)

Second quarter

49ers field goal (14:04) — Jake Moody, 51 yards

49ers touchdown (6:54) — Deebo Samuel, 2-yard run (Jake Moody extra point)

49ers field goal (0:04) — Jake Moody, 31 yards

➤ Game stats

The 49ers have scored 10 unanswered points and took a nine-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

Brock Purdy and the 49ers went on a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended on a 31-yard Jake Moody field goal just before halftime.

Moody has converted three field goals in the game thus far.

Running back Jordan Mason has filled in nicely for Christian McCaffrey. Mason produced 11 carries for 74 rushing yards in the first half.

Mason and Deebo Samuel have carried the 49ers’ offense for the most part. Samuel’s tallied 38 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.

The Jets had two straight three-and-outs to end the first half.

Aaron Rodgers is 7-of-11 passing for 64 yards.

Jets safety Tony Adams has a game-best 10 tackles. — Tyler Dragon

Jordan Mason and Deebo Samuel powered the 49ers on a go-ahead 12-play, 67-yard touchdown drive.

Mason tallied three carries for 20 yards and Samuel, who is lining up at receiver and running back in the game, had a 2-yard touchdown run to cap off San Francisco’s scoring drive.

The 49ers have a 13-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

San Francisco has 93 rushing yards in the first half. — Tyler Dragon

The 49ers went on a nine-play, 37-yard drive to get into Jets territory. But San Francisco ran a reverse to Deebo Samuel on third down that lost three yards. Samuel was lucky to just lose three yards. He juked multiple Jets defenders just to get close to the line of scrimmage.

The 49ers had to settle for a 51-yard field goal by Jake Moody to cut their deficit to 7-6 with 14:04 remaining the first half.

Moody’s made two field goals beyond 45 yards to start the game. — Tyler Dragon

Nobody may be happier for Aaron Rodgers’ return than Garrett Wilson.

After dealing with poor quarterback play in his first two professional seasons, Wilson connected with his quarterback several times on the third drive of the day that ended with a touchdown.

On a third down play early in the drive, Rodgers threw a signature dart to Wilson that showed off the playmaking of the two stars to keep the offense on the field. They connected four times on that drive for 45 yards that got New York inside the five-yard line. There, Breece Hall ran it in from three yards out for the touchdown to give his squad a 7-3 lead.

It was a drive Jets fans have been dreaming of since Rodgers joined. — Jordan Mendoza

Aaron Rodgers has already played more snaps than all of last season.

He lasted only four snaps in the 2023 season, but made it to a fifth on the Jets third drive of the day. The result? An unimpressive rush by Breece Hall for no gain.

It was certainly a challenge getting to the milestone considering the offense went three-and-out on its first drive and Hall fumbled on the first play of the second drive. As of that play, Rodgers has only attempted two passes. — Jordan Mendoza

Star inside linebacker Fred Warner is already making an impact.

Warner forced a fumble on New York’s fourth offensive play of the game.

The three-time first-team All-Pro jarred the football loose from Jets running back Breece Hall and recovered the football on the Jets’ 32-yard line.

The 49ers offense didn’t reach the end zone after their defense forced a takeaway. Brock Purdy and the offense went three-and-out but kicker Jake Moody was able to convert a 46-yard field goal to give the 49ers an early 3-0 lead. — Tyler Dragon

Jets at 49ers will kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

TV channel: ABC | ESPN | ESPN2

ESPN again is the broadcast home of “Monday Night Football.” The longtime team of Joe Buck (play-by-play) and Troy Aikman (color) will be on the call, with Lisa Salters adding reports from the sideline.

Viewers can also tune to ESPN2 for the “ManningCast” featuring Peyton and Eli Manning.

For cord cutters looking for a live stream for the matchup, you can turn to Fubo TV. Fubo TV carries NBC, as well as CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season.

ESPN+, the proprietary streaming service of ESPN, will also carry the game.

Not only is Monday the return of Aaron Rodgers, but it’s also the debut of Jason Kelce on “Monday Night Countdown.”

The former Philadelphia Eagles center is part of ESPN’s coverage of “Monday Night Football” this season, and he started off in a fashion only he could do.

When introduced during the pregame show, host Scott Van Pelt revealed he is wearing a shirt “he got at the mall because he left his travel bag in the truck.” The crew of Ryan Clark and Marcus Spears couldn’t help but laugh at Kelce’s mistake as he tried to explain himself, flexing a shirt that looked a little snug on him. — Jordan Mendoza

Christian McCaffrey won’t be on the field Monday night.

The San Francisco 49ers ruled McCaffrey inactive before the team’s season opener against the New York Jets because of calf and Achilles injuries.

McCaffrey was listed on the team’s injury report as “questionable.” The running back has been dealing with a calf injury since early August. But many anticipated the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year to be available for the team’s highly anticipated season debut versus Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.

Running back Jordan Mason is slated to replace McCaffrey in the 49ers’ backfield.

Jets’ inactive players:

OL Max Mitchell
RB Israel Abanikanda
OT Carter Warren
TE Brenden Bates
DL Eric Watts
DL Leonard Taylor
CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse

49ers’ inactive players:

QB Joshua Dobbs
RB Christian McCaffrey
CB Darrell Luter Jr.
S Talanoa Hufanga
DL Yetur Gross-Matos
LB Dee Winters
OL Ben Bartch

Mike Greenberg voices how he’s feeling about the New York Jets

Mackenzie Salmon asks Mike Greenberg how he’s holding up before the Jets MNF matchup and the return of Aaron Rodgers.

Sports Seriously

Jordan Mason, who is expected to get the bulk of the carries out of the San Francisco 49ers‘ backfield with Christian McCaffrey inactive, is entering his third NFL season.

Mason — who went undrafted out of Georgia Tech — has compiled 464 yards and four touchdowns rushing in his two NFL seasons. Mason had 206 yards and three touchdowns rushing during the 2023 season.

Here are the USA TODAY Sports’ staff picks for this game:

Deebo Samuel says ‘nothing’s changed’ since Purdy joined the 49ers

49ers receiver Deebo Samuel has said his QB Brock Purdy has stayed pretty consistent since joining the league.

Sports Seriously

The 49ers are favorites to defeat the Jets, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering NFL betting promos in 2024.

Spread: 49ers (-4)
Moneyline: 49ers (-210); Jets (+170)
Over/under: 43

With DirecTV and Disney still bickering like an old married couple, DirecTV customers looking to watch “Monday Night Football” between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets on ABC Monday are in for a rude awakening when they realize DirecTV no longer carries that channel.

This predicament leaves NFL fans with quite the conundrum. How are they supposed to watch the NFL’s Week 1 conclusion? Well, there is a multitude of ways to get your NFL fix Monday night without DirecTV. — Jon Hoefling

The New York Jets finally have Aaron Rodgers healthy and are looking to blossom into a legitimate contender in the AFC.

Still, when they open their season Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers, they will be missing a key piece they envisioned being part of their program. Two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Haason Reddick has been on a holdout since the Jets traded for him in March, skipping all mandatory offseason sessions, including training camp. — Lorenzo Reyes

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is returning to the NFL spotlight this season. Now, he’ll have a Netflix documentary to add to the buzz.

Netflix announced Monday a new docuseries, titled “Aaron Rodgers: Enigma,” will follow Rodgers’ life off the field and his comeback journey after injury. The three episodes will premiere on the streaming service Dec. 17 and are produced by Religion of Sports, Skydance Sports and NFL Films. — Carrie McDonald

Monday night’s matchup is the 15th all-time between the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers hold an 11-3 series edge, including winning the most recent matchup in 2020, 31-13. The two teams’ first-ever matchup came during the 1971 season, a 24-21 49ers victory. The starting quarterbacks for the 49ers and Jets that day in 1971 for you trivia buffs: Joe Namath for the Jets and John Brodie for the 49ers.

For those who enjoy testing their NFL wits with Pro Football Reference’s immaculate grids, there have been a number of notable players who played for both teams. The most famous is Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott. Frank Gore, the NFL’s No. 3 all-time rushing yardage leader, also played for both the 49ers and Jets. Both Lott and Gore played their final seasons with the Jets after much more celebrated tenures with the 49ers. — Jim Reineking

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