The 49ers were able to bounce back from Week 1 with a 31-13 win over the New York Jets, however, it was a bittersweet victory for the reigning NFC Champions. Injuries were the name of the game as both the 49ers and Jets suffered a substantial amount of injuries on Sunday. Here are 11 takeaways from the game.
1. The 49ers lost both Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas in the first quarter with knee injuries. Bosa was folded over at the end of a play and fell to the ground holding his knee. The next play, Thomas fell to the turf and was immediately tended to in the middle of the field. Both were carted off and will be further examined as the team travels to West Virginia.
Per head coach Kyle Shanahan, the team fears an ACL injury for both defensive linemen.
"Solomon is in the same boat as Bosa," Shanahan said. "He has a better chance of not being that from what I'm told. But we'll have to wait and see."
2. Additionally, the 49ers were without Raheem Mostert (knee) and Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) heading into the second half. Garoppolo played through his apparent injury for the majority of the first half. Mostert left the field just before the final play for the first half to be evaluated for a knee injury and was ruled OUT shortly thereafter.
3. Speaking of Mostert, last week the running back hauled in a 76-yard touchdown reception, the longest reception and score of his career. Well he succeeded that play in the 49ers first play from scrimmage on Sunday. Mostert took the handoff, cut outside and ran up the right sideline 80 yards to the end zone.
According to Pro Football Reference, Mostert is the first person since Cecil Turner in 1970 to score 75-plus yard touchdowns in Weeks 1 and 2.
4. The 49ers were without George Kittle, who is nursing a knee injury. New tight end Jordan Reed was the primary beneficiary of Kittle's absence. Reed hauled in 7-of-8 receptions for 50 yards and two touchdowns on the day. The first, Garoppolo connected with the tight end who stretched out over the left pylon for an 18-yard score. On the second, Garoppolo threw a short pass in tight coverage to Reed, who evaded a tackle for the score.
"We knew he had a chance to have a big game today," Shanahan said. "He beat man coverage. His hands were great. He did a good job in the run game and really helped us."
5. Garoppolo's first incompletion didn't come until the 49ers final drive of the first half on a deep, yet catchable pass to Kendrick Bourne. The quarterback finished his abbreviated performance 14-of-16 passing for 131 yards and two touchdowns for a 140.4 passer rating.
6. Nick Mullens threw his first pass since Week 17 of the 2018 season. The backup completed 8-of-11 passes for 71 yards and an interception.
"I thought Nick came in and made a couple of big plays," Shanahan said. "I think he'll be a lot more ready next week with preparation."
Shanahan said the 49ers will asses Garoppolo's injury over the team's week in West Virginia and if the quarterback will miss games.
"We'll see how that heals," Shanahan said. "That's something you really won't be able to tell whether he has a chance or not probably till the end of the week."
7. Arik Armstead recorded the team's lone sack of the game. He also nearly picked off his own batted down pass that forced a Jets punt.
8. Fred Warner led the team with 12 tackles on the day, with 10 coming in the first half alone. One of his most impressive plays came on a 4th-and-1 stop of Jets running back Josh Adams to force a turnover on downs.
San Francisco's defense managed to keep Sam Darnold and the Jets offense out of the end zone until the final two minutes of the contest.
"Fred played a hell of a game," Shanahan said. "We knew we were going to bend a little bit, but our defense never broke, not till the end when they let them get into the endzone. But I was happy with the defense as a whole."
9. Jerick McKinnon had himself a day, registering 77 yards on the ground and a touchdown, an 18-yard score over the right pylon. McKinnon ripped off a huge, 55-yard run that moved the 49ers into Jets territory and gave San Francisco a fresh set of downs. On 3rd-and-31, McKinnon hauled in a toss from Mullens, found a hole and beat his defenders for the large pickup.
According to NFL Research, McKinnon's score marked his first rushing touchdown since Week 8 of the 2017 season (1,057 days ago).
10. Mohamed Sanu made his 49ers debut, however, was not targeted during Sunday's win. In Brandon Aiyuk's NFL debut, the rookie caught 2-of-3 targets for 21 yards. His second catch of the day was a 13-yard pickup on a bootleg play, where the wideout flashed his yards after the catch ability while forcing two missed tackles. Bourne led the 49ers wideouts with four receptions for 67 yards.
11. Here's a list of injuries suffered during Sunday's contest.
- Bosa (ACL)
- Thomas (ACL)
- Garoppolo (ankle)
- Mostert (knee)
- Tevin Coleman (knee)
The 49ers are likely to have more updates on players' status once the team arrives in West Virginia. Shanahan said the team could look to bring in free agents with the team's recent string of injuries. The head coach also highlighted the team's depth on the practice squad that the team may have to rely on in their turnaround back to MetLife Stadium as the 49ers face the New York Giants in Week 3.
"Possibly. We'll see how everything plays out these next couple of days. We've got some guys on our practice squad that we have a lot of confidence in. We'll see who's out there and however we can help our team. I know John (Lynch) and his group will bring those guys in. We've also got some guys here that can step in and help us too."
