Eric Williams

NFL reporter

Jordan Mason revealed to a reporter shortly after the San Francisco 49ers’ 32-19 win over the visiting New York Jets that he was told last Friday that Christian McCaffrey would not play Monday night.

McCaffrey was questionable for the season opener with a calf injury but told reporters Friday he planned to play, raising questions about whether head coach Kyle Shanahan followed the league’s injury protocol.

But this isn’t a story about the NFL’s storied history of coaches manipulating the injury record. It’s about how one of the Super Bowl frontrunners has such a loaded roster that it doesn’t even need its best player to knock off another title contender. That’s not good news for the rest of the NFL.

With McCaffrey sitting out, San Francisco was left with 30% of the team’s 2023 offense on the sidelines. But it didn’t matter because Mason, who went undrafted by Georgia Tech in 2022, proved more than ready to be a workhorse running back.

Mason was originally scheduled to be No. 3 on the roster at the start of training camp, but No. 2 Elijah Mitchell was placed on the season-ending injured list during the final roster moves in August after suffering a hamstring injury.

With the 49ers chasing their sixth Lombardi Trophy, it’s important for players like Mason to step up when starters can’t play to help San Francisco’s marathon run to the Finals.

“It’s huge not having Christian, but we have a team that really commits to running the ball,” Shanahan said. “We have 10 guys that will block for whoever the running back is. And we have some running backs and some receivers that know how to drop their pads and run the ball.”

Mason earned his first start in three seasons and made the most of it, finishing with a career-high 147 rushing yards on 28 carries, including a 5-yard run for a score. Mason also had a 17-yard touchdown run that was called back due to a holding penalty on Deebo Samuel.

The last time Mason had that many carries or rushing yards in a single game was in 2016 during his senior year at Gallatin High School, just outside Nashville, Tennessee.

Tight end George Kittle, who caught the ball four times for 40 yards, said the 49ers went back to basics with McCaffrey. McCaffrey has the unique ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, not in the lineup.

“The only positive thing about Christian not playing tonight is we ran outside the zone all day,” Kittle said. “They went to five down linemen, and they still couldn’t handle it. I like that kind of football.”

What went wrong in New York on Monday night?

After Brock Purdy’s interceptions were a major talking point during training camp, the quarterback was efficient in running San Francisco’s offense and taking care of the ball in his third year. Purdy finished 19 of 29 for 231 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 89.9.

Two of San Francisco’s top offensive players — receiver Brandon Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams — did not participate in training camp due to contractual issues, but they did play on Monday.

Williams arrived just six days before San Francisco’s season opener after signing a lucrative contract extension. But the Oklahoma product showed little rust, playing 70 of 72 snaps on offense. According to Next Gen Stats, Williams allowed zero pressures on 33 pass-blocking snaps, his first game without allowing pressures on at least 14 pass-blocking snaps since Week 3 of the 2022 season.

After signing his big contract just before the start of the regular season, Aiyuk was largely absent. He finished with two catches for 28 yards on five targets, but also had two drops, including one in the end zone. Aiyuk played 43 of a possible 72 snaps on offense as he worked himself back into shape.

The 49ers also appeared to address one of their weaknesses with the addition of defensive linemen Maliek Collins and Leonard Floyd inside, along with linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. San Francisco held the Jets to 68 rushing yards, an average of 3.6 yards per carry.

The Niners showed that they don’t have to be at their best, or even close to it, to get big wins during the regular season.

“All we’ve been preaching all week and a lot of the offseason is just focus on one game at a time,” Kittle said. “That’s all we can focus on because when you look at the high goals and expectations, there are distractions.”

There was no game for the 49ers on Monday, even after a tumultuous offseason and without their best player for the season opener.

Eric D. Williams has been covering the NFL for over a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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