SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Jets consider themselves Super Bowl favorites, and on Monday night they saw what a Super Bowl favorite actually looks like.
Despite being without their best player, the defending NFC champion 49ers beat the Jets 32-19 in their season opener at Levi's Stadium.
There's no shame in losing to the 49ers, who have become a perennial winner under coach Kyle Shanahan, but the Jets looked underpowered. The Jets defense forced a punt on the 49ers' first drive and then didn't force a punt after that. The 49ers scored eight straight points.
Maybe it was enough to get Jets fans to take ayahuasca.
Even without star running back Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers offense still operated like a machine, toying with a Jets defense that believed it could be the best in the league.
Backup running back Jordan Mason made his first NFL start and rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown.
Quarterback Brock Purdy didn't have a standout performance but played well enough to steadily get the 49ers into field goal position. The 49ers gained 402 total yards against the Jets.
Aaron Rodgers' return had some big highlights. He scored his first touchdown with the Jets late in the third quarter, throwing a beautiful 36-yard pass to Allen Lazard after forcing the 49ers defense offsides in typical Rodgers style.
He orchestrated 12 drives in the first half and scored the Jets' first touchdown, but there were long stretches where the Jets' offense was completely ineffective.
The 49ers had a Rodgers pass intercepted in the third quarter by Demetrius Flanigan-Fowles after Deomodre Renior intercepted a pass intended for Garrett Wilson.
Just how bad the night was for the Jets became clear when they brought in backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor with under four minutes left in the game to try and close it out.
Taylor threw a garbage-time touchdown pass to Lazard with 25 seconds left in the game.
Rodgers finished the game completing 13 of 21 for 167 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The first half of the offense was entirely down to Wilson and Hall, and while Rodgers started using Lazard more toward the end of the game, it's clear the Jets need to find more answers on the offensive end.
On the first drive after halftime, it felt like the Jets had the game in their hands. After playing poorly in the first half, the Jets kept it within 16-7 by halftime. The 49ers received the opening kickoff of the second half and broke through the Jets defense, going on an 11-play, 70-yard drive that was capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run by Mason. The big play was a 34-yard pass from Purdy to fullback Kyle Juszczyk that beat Jets safety Ashtyn Davis.
The loss put the Jets at 0-1 for the fifth time in six years. Oddly enough, the Jets' only previous season-opening win was last year's overtime win over the Bills, but that win was overshadowed by Rodgers' season-ending injury on the fourth play of the game.
The Jets' fourth offensive snap was poor again.
A year after Rodgers was injured, he completed his first pass for the Jets, a quick flip to Hall, who was hit by 49ers linebacker Fred Warner and forced a fumble.
3rd quarter, 49ers running back Jordan Mason #24 runs the ball while being tackled by New York Jets cornerback DJ Reed #4.
San Francisco got the ball back at the Jets' 32, but only managed a field goal off a turnover to take a 3-0 lead.
The Jets bounced back quickly.
The Jets' next drive was a 12-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Hall to give the Jets a 7-3 lead. Rodgers pumped his fist emphatically as Hall crossed the goal line. Rodgers also completed three third-down conversions with Garrett Wilson during the drive.
That was the Jets' only good drive of the first half. They also went out on third down three times and had a fumble. They gained just 14 yards on four drives and 70 yards on one touchdown drive.
Defensively, the Jets allowed 210 yards in the first half and held the 49ers to just one touchdown.
Deebo Samuel scored on a 2-yard run with seven minutes left in the second quarter to put the 49ers up 13-7. Jake Moody made his third field goal of the game just before halftime to extend the lead to 16-7.
Jets star cornerback Sauce Gardner was off the field for nine of the team's 12 plays on the team's final drive of the first half, an odd absence for Gardner, as the Jets said it wasn't due to an injury.
Purdy went 6-for-6 while off the field, with Gardner returning to the field for the final few plays.
Haason Reddick is still under contract, and his performance just makes it even more expensive for the Jets to pay him.
The Jets sacked Purdy three times, including two by defensive backs after Purdy rolled out, and Michael Clemons sacked Purdy late in the game.
The Jets don't have much time to regroup: They travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans on Sunday, then face the Patriots in their home opener on Sept. 19.
