The New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers clashed in a Week 1 contest to begin the 2024 NFL season.
The Jets (0-1) ended up falling 32-19 to the Niners (0-1). It was a game that had a lot of hyped around it and Gang Green mostly fell short.
With that, here is Jets Wire’ position-by-position report card grades for Week 1:
Quarterback: C
Aaron Rodgers finished only 13-for-21 passing with a touchdown and an interception. The giveaway was a tipped ball so we can’t put all that on him. However, his debut 2.0 did not live up to the hype. Turning the free play into a score was the QB’s best moment.
Running back: C-
Breece Hall did have a touchdown to cap a positive first drive. After that, he did not get involved enough at all. The offensive line let him down in a big way. Hall did grab five catches in the passing game.
Tight end: D
The entire Jets’ tight end group felt invisible. According to Pro Football Focus metrics, Jeremy Ruckert was the top-marked player in this unit at a 60.9 overall grade solely for blocking.
Offensive line: C-
It was a two-sided coin for the Jets offensive line. Rodgers had time to complete some passes but the group was so woeful running that ball that the imbalanced game plan made it difficult on the passing attack. PFF’s top marks in the trenches were handed to Alijah Vera-Tucker (67.5) and John Simpson (66.3).
Defensive line: F
It was an abysmal effort from the Jets’ defensive front. Two sacks of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy came via the secondary. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams only had one quarterback hit while pass rusher Micheal Clemons had a third sack.
Most notably was the poor tackling and failure to close any gaps or set an edge in the ground game as 49ers’ back Jordan Mason ripped off 147 yards on the ground. Unfortunately, Haason Reddick was not acquired to fix the run defense either.
Linebackers: C-
The linebacker round out the front seven and they had their miscues against the run as well. At least their efforts in the passing attack were positive. All-Pro tight end George Kittle has had much better days, he had four catches for 40 yards.
Secondary: C+
The secondary held up their end of the bargain against the pass for most of the evening despite a poor pass rush helping them. No touchdowns in the air for Purdy, and the defensive backfield did their part in attacking the QB since Tony Adams and Sauce Garder had sacks.
The lack of tackling very much was found in the secondary, bringing this grade down.
Special teams:
Not much out of the kickoff return department. Thomas Morstead had a booming 60-yard punt, at least.
