Aaron Rodgers’ return didn’t go quite as planned on Monday night.
The San Francisco 49ers rolled over Rodgers and the New York Jets on Monday night to wrap up the opening week of the 2024 NFL season. The 49ers cruised to a 32-19 win at Levi’s Stadium, even without star running back Christian McCaffrey who was ruled out of the game about an hour and a half before kickoff with a calf injury.
San Francisco took a 16-7 lead into the locker room at halftime, thanks to three deep field goals from Jake Moody and a 2-yard touchdown run from Deebo Samuel Sr. in the second quarter. It would’ve been more, but star 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk dropped a very catchable touchdown pass right before halftime — which left Peyton Manning extremely frustrated on ESPN 2.
The 49ers quickly added 10 more points in the third quarter, thanks to a long 11-play drive that Jordan Mason capped with a 5-yard touchdown run. Rogers, who lasted just four plays last season before going down with an Achilles injury, threw his first touchdown pass of the game late in the third quarter. He hit his former Green Bay Packer teammate Allen Lazard for a 36-yard touchdown pass right up the middle after drawing an offsides call. It was his first touchdown pass in more than 600 days.
But Moody hit a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter, which brought him to six on the night, to keep the Jets at bay and lead San Francisco to its 13-point win. The Jets scored one last touchdown in the last minute, doing so with backup Tyrod Taylor in at quarterback. Rodgers was pulled in the final minutes after the Jets threw in the towel.
Brock Purdy went 19-of-29 for 231 yards for the 49ers in the win. Mason ran for 147 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries while stepping in for McCaffrey. Jauan Jennings had 64 receiving yards on five catches.
Rogers went 13-of-21 for 167 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Jets. Breece Hall, who scored in the first half, had 54 rushing yards on 16 carries. Lazard finished with a game-high 89 receiving yards and two touchdowns on six catches.
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