Jordan Mason filled in superbly for an injured Christian McCaffrey by rushing for a career-high 147 yards and a touchdown, and the San Francisco 49ers made Aaron Rodgers' return to the field a frustrating one with a dominant 32-19 season-opening win over the New York Jets on Monday.
The 49ers made McCaffrey inactive with a calf injury that limited the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year in the pre-season, but still managed to bully New York's usually stout defence for 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Mason did most of the work by logging 28 attempts, and San Francisco also received a rushing touchdown from wide receiver Deebo Samuel to win its first game since a tough 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in last February's Super Bowl.
Rodgers threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard, but struggled for much of his first appearance since rupturing his Achilles tendon in the Jets' 2023 opener. The four-time NFL MVP was held to 167 yards on 13-of-21 passing along with an interception that led to one of five field goals by 49ers kicker Jake Moody.
The 40-year-old quarterback did look like his vintage self on the Jets' third drive of the night, a 12-play, 70-yard sequence in which Rodgers completed 6 of 7 passes for 62 yards. Breece Hall capped the series with a 3-yard touchdown run that gave New York a 7-3 lead with 3:51 left in the first quarter.
New York's offence mostly sputtered from there, however, as the 49ers scored 23 consecutive points to move ahead comfortably.
After Moody hit a 51-yard field goal in the opening minute of the second quarter to get San Francisco within a point, the 49ers defence forced a three-and-out before Mason made his presence felt on the ensuing possession.
The backup running back rushed six times for 43 yards on the 12-play drive, which ended in Samuel's 2-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep that put San Francisco up 13-7 with 6:54 left in the first half.
Another three-and-out by the Jets followed by another long drive by San Francisco set up Moody's 31-yard field goal that sent the 49ers into the break with a 16-7 advantage.
San Francisco started the second half in much the same fashion, going 70 yards in 11 plays to increase its margin on Mason's 5-yard touchdown run.
Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles then picked off Rodgers on the following series, which led to Moody's 53-yard field goal that extended the lead to 26-7 with 3:28 left in the third quarter.
The Jets did answer on Rodgers' deep touchdown pass to Lazard on the next possession, though the 49ers stopped Hall on the resulting 2-point conversion try. New York's next drive again went nowhere, however, and Rodgers was pulled in favour of backup Tyrod Taylor with under 4 1/2 minutes to play.
San Francisco had a 32-13 lead at that point after Moody knocked home his fourth and fifth field goals of the game.
Lazard also caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Taylor in the game's final minute, though the Jets again misfired on the 2-point attempt.
Moody's first field goal, a 46-yarder, opened the scoring just over four minutes into the contest. The kick came shortly after 49ers linebacker Fred Warner jarred the ball loose from Hall on a reception and San Francisco recovered at the New York 32-yard line.
Brock Purdy threw for 231 yards on 19-of-29 passing for San Francisco, while Lazard led the Jets with 89 yards on six catches in addition to his two touchdowns.
Prescott throws 2 touchdowns as Cowboys continue mastery of Giants
Dak Prescott threw one of his two touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb and the Dallas Cowboys held on for a 20-15 victory to continue their mastery of the rival New York Giants on Thursday night.
Dallas has won seven straight and 14 of the past 15 meetings with New York.
Prescott, who has won his last 13 starts against the Giants, hit running back Rico Dowdle on a 15-yard screen pass for a touchdown to put Dallas ahead in the first quarter. He then found Lamb for a 55-yard catch-and-run TD on a play that ended with the receiver being called for taunting.
Lamb slipped past two defenders and trotted into the end zone. He then fired the ball in their direction and flexed his muscles, drawing an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.
Prescott finished 22 of 27 for 221 yards, while Lamb had seven catches for 98 yards.
Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 60 and 40 yards for Dallas (2-2), which came into the game with major concerns after being thoroughly beaten at home by New Orleans and Baltimore. A new issue for the Cowboys is an apparent leg injury to star pass rusher Micah Parsons, who was carted off the field in the fourth quarter.
Greg Joseph kicked field goals of 52, 41, 38, 22 and 42 for the Giants (1-3), who controlled the ball for 35:37 but failed to score a touchdown at home for the second straight game.
Daniel Jones completed 29 of 40 passes for 281 yards, finding sensational rookie Malik Nabers 12 times for 115 yards and Wan'Dale Robinson 11 times for 71 yards.
'I failed myself' - Lamb apologises for attitude in Cowboys loss to Ravens
CeeDee Lamb has apologised for his performance and attitude in the Dallas Cowboys' 28-25 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.
The All-Pro wide receiver was seen having a touchline disagreement with quarterback Dak Prescott during Sunday's loss at the AT&T Stadium.
Lamb also lost a red zone fumble and dropped a pass, while he caught four of seven targets for 67 yards.
Reflecting on a disappointing game for him and his side two days on, Lamb said: "I expect a lot out of myself, more than anyone could put on me.
"And quite honestly, I failed myself, and obviously I failed the team, just as far as producing and being that game-breaker.
"I kind of let the game get to my head a little bit. Honestly, I've got to be truthful to myself, and I played a part in that loss, a big part.
"Honestly [neither] my body language nor attitude, [helped change] the outcome of the game.”
Lamb has 13 receptions this season on 24 targets for 218 yards and a touchdown, having sat out the off-season as he waited for a new contract.
The 25-year-old's connection with Prescott has been lacking, but he insists there are no issues between them.
"Our relationship, if anything, has gotten stronger," he said. "Don't let what's out there fool you. We're brothers to the end.
"We know that we're all we got. I tip my hat to him. I have the utmost respect for him. I look at him as a brother.
"Everything is going to come out: the energy, the passion, the love, the fight, and then we'll make up in the end. No craziness now."
The 1-2 Cowboys face the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium next up on Thursday.
Niners' woes pile up as Hargrave tears triceps and McCaffrey sees specialist
The San Francisco 49ers' selection woes show no signs of easing with defensive tackle Javon Hargrave suffering a potentially season-ending injury and Christian McCaffrey needing specialist treatment on an Achilles issue.
The 49ers have made a 1-2 start to the 2024 season after winning the NFC championship for the eighth time last campaign, with injuries hampering them early on.
McCaffrey, the NFL's reigning Offensive Player of the Year, was placed on injured reserve last week after missing the entirety of preseason with what was later diagnosed as Achilles tendonitis.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle also missed Sunday's 27-24 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, during which Hargrave partially tore his right triceps.
That injury will require surgery and will likely bring his 2024 season to a premature end.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said: "It's a big loss. I thought he had his best game. I thought he was a huge factor, really affected the quarterback in that game.
"He's one of our better players. He was definitely going in the right direction and was going to have a big year."
McCaffrey, meanwhile, has flown to Germany to see a specialist regarding his Achilles issue.
He must miss four games after being placed on IR. Having missed two thus far, he cannot return until after the 49ers' October 6 meeting with the Arizona Cardinals at the earliest.
Shanahan also revealed quarterback Brock Purdy had complained of back soreness after the Rams game and would be evaluated daily, though an MRI scan came back all-clear.
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