Aaron Rodgers’ long-awaited return to the field was spoiled by San Francisco as the 49ers got 147 yards rushing and a touchdown from running back Jordan Mason in a 32-19 victory over the New York Jets on Monday night.
Rodgers threw for 167 yards and one touchdown and also had an interception exactly 52 weeks to the day after his debut with New York ended with a torn achilles after four snaps.
Rodgers had problems moving around in the pocket on Monday but occasionally showed off the arm that helped him win four MVPs with the Green Bay Packers. It wasn’t enough to beat the 49ers, who overpowered a Jets defense which is supposed to be the team’s strength in the trenches and overcame the absence of All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey.
Mason, who was undrafted in 2022, made up for it in his first career start using his physical running style to help San Francisco control the ball behind a strong performance from the offensive line. Deebo Samuel added a two-yard TD run and Jake Moody made a franchise record-tying six field goals to lead the 49ers to the win.
Brock Purdy threw for 231 yards with no touchdowns or turnovers against a Jets defense that generated little pressure without holdout edge rusher Haason Reddick.
The Niners, who reached last season’s Super Bowl, took control of Monday’s game around half-time. They got a field goal on a 12-play, 75-yard drive at the end of the first half and scored on Mason’s five-yard run on an 11-play, 70-yarder to start the second half. That turned a 13-7 lead into a 23-7 advantage with the Jets getting only one kneel down snap during that stretch. New York’s total time of possession on Monday was 21:20, the least amount by a Rodgers-led team during his long career.
Rodgers then threw an interception on the next drive on a pass to Garrett Wilson that was deflected by Deommodore Lenoir into the hands of linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles.
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Rodgers threw his first TD pass in 610 days when he took advantage of a free play when Leonard Floyd jumped offsides to connect on a 36-yard scoring strike to Allen Lazard that cut the deficit to 26-13. Lazard caught a second TD in the closing seconds from Tyrod Taylor after the game had already been decided and Rodgers had been pulled from the game.
Rodgers’ second game with the Jets lasted much longer than his first, which ended with the season-ending achilles injury after just four snaps in 2023.
New York went three-and-out on the opening drive this game with two handoffs and a dropped pass by Lazard before a setback on the fourth snap that was temporary instead of season ending this time around. Rodgers’ first completion as a Jet was caught by Breece Hall, who had the ball punched out by Fred Warner for a lost fumble that set up a Niners field goal.
Rodgers got the Jets moving on the following drive, converting three third-down passes to Wilson to set up Hall’s three-yard TD run. Rodgers went 6 for 7 for 61 yards on the drive. New York didn’t get another first down in the half, and rarely looked like they would get back into the game.
