SANTA CLARA — After a training camp marked by a holdout, a hold-in and a near-tragedy, the 49ers got down to the business of football Monday night against the New York Jets.
Turns out they’re still pretty good at it.
The 49ers won 32-19, but it was more convincing than that in a physical sense. It didn’t have the “wow” factor of last season’s 30-7 road win in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers where the 49ers made it clear they were a cut above, but it was impressive nonetheless.
Apparently all the outside noise about missed practices and protracted contract issues with Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams were just that.
Noise.
In a completely separate real-life situation, rookie first-round draft pick Ricky Pearsall Jr. was shot through the chest on Sept. 1 yet could miraculously miss only four games.
With all this as backdrop, the 49ers went boa constrictor against the Jets, choking the life out of an opponent that had Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and a supposedly formidable defense that wound up getting trampled even with Christian McCaffrey on the sidelines with a calf/Achilles injury.
To fullback Kyle Juszczyk, there’s still nothing finer than being a 49er.
“It’s so funny. The whole training camp, the reports about how the vibes were so terrible here,” Juszczyk said. “It couldn’t be further from the truth.”
It wasn’t anywhere close to perfect. No 49ers team would ever be satisfied with settling for six field goals, as they did from Jake Moody. But they won big anyway even with McCaffrey, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, sitting it out. Aiyuk played 43 of 72 snaps, caught just two passes for 28 yards and dropped a sure touchdown from quarterback Brock Purdy. Williams, the Hall of Fame-bound left tackle, had the same number of IVs (two) as missed snaps (two).
Yet there was no doubt which was the superior team, with Jets coach and former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh citing “championship-level football.” There are questions as to whether the Jets will get there, even with Rodgers at quarterback. The 49ers are positioned to make another run at it after being in the conference championship game four of the last five years with a pair of painful Super Bowl losses.
Continuity is rare in the NFL, but coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch are going into their eighth season. The Aiyuk contract dispute was a constant thorn. Williams, an even more impactful player, kept to himself but it was still a dark cloud. And McCaffrey’s injury appears worse than the 49ers ever let on, based on his inactive status against the Jets.
Brock Purdy (right) greets counterpart Aaron Rodgers of the Jets after the 49ers won 32-19 Monday night at Levi’s Stadium. Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group
Shanahan is big into the importance of practice, and Aiyuk and Williams got four sessions each. That’s it.
No matter. Quarterback Brock Purdy (19 of 29, 231 yards) was his usual efficient self. Had Aiyuk not dropped a touchdown pass in …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
