After the team’s decisive win over the Aaron Rodgers-led Jets, coach Kyle Shanahan applauded the efforts of Jordan Mason who came in as a backup to injured Christian McCaffrey.
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McCaffrey was surprisingly placed on the injury list before yesterday’s matchup against the Jets, opening up a spot for rookie Jordan Mason.
Mason made the most of his outing, racking up 147 yards and 1 touchdown in front of one of the NFL’s strongest defense lines. Shanahan was all praise for the backup RB as he called him “awesome”:
“I thought he runs like he always does, I mean when you get him the ball he breaks tackles and usually gets more than we block, than we block for.
Nobody expected the former undrafted RB to fill McCaffrey’s shoes so well, but his smart play, supplemented by support from WR Deebo Samuel, was enough for the 49ers to put a strong offense in front of the Jets.
The Coach revealed that Mason didn’t have much time to prepare for the starting role. Shanahan didn’t reveal this to Mason and only said that the game would be different and that he needed to be prepared for a challenge.
In 2022, Mason was picked up by the 49ers as an undrafted free agent to fulfill training and backup running duties. However, looking at his performance against the Jets, he’s certainly the second bargain deal after Purdy that the 49ers have made in recent history.
The team was hopeful about McCaffrey’s availability, but he reported calf tightness and was ruled out of the game. It was a tough sight for fans to see their unit without their star weapons, but McAfrrey will be back on the field in no time.
Shanahan gives details about star RB’s injury
McCaffrey was expected to start the game but the Coach decided to rest him. When asked about the injury that kept the star running back from starting in the season opener, Shanahan revealed that McCaffrey faced issues throughout the week.
While running drills in the training sessions, he experienced some discomfort in his calf. Which got worse on game day, as Shanahan revealed,
“The same stuff that was bothering him all week, there was a little too much today. (it was a) game time decision when he came in, just talked to him about it, it was still there, so I thought it was going to be smart to keep him out.”
Hours before the game, he was moved from ‘questionable’ to ‘injured’ and went to see a doctor.
He suffered a calf injury during a training camp in August which flared his old Achilles issues and he might miss the team’s next game before making a full recovery.
The 49ers faced multiple setbacks in the last few weeks with McCaffrey, backup RB Elijah Mitchell, and safety Hufanga out of the squad but Coach Shanahan was still able to put together a balanced team. This, along with Purdy doing his job without any mistakes, was enough for the team to beat the Jets 32-19.
The team is looking sharp with newly discovered talent Jordan Mason but McCaffrey’s return will be instrumental for the team’s playoffs bid.
