Keys to Success as New York Jets Face San Francisco 49ers in Season Opener

Here are three keys to success for the New York Jets prepare to face the San Francisco 49ers in their 2024 regular-season opener.

Florham Park, NJ -- July 27, 2024 -- Defensive players, Jermaine Johnson, Quinnen Williams and Levi Fotu get ready for the upcoming season at New York Jets training camp this morning. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

The New York Jets open the 2024 regular season when they travel to the San Francisco 49ers for Monday Night Football.

It is the Jets second straight Monday night opener and they’re hoping it goes better than last year, when quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon and was lost for the season. His injury set New York back, as a season with high expectations fell to a 7-11 finish.

The 49ers had no issues reaching their expectation, as they won 12 games, won the NFC and fell short of winning the Super Bowl. But, San Francisco has been to the playoffs four of the last five years and that’s something the Jets can only aspire to right now.

New York hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2010.

Here are the Jets’ three keys to success against the 49ers.

Establish the Run

The temptation is going to be to put the ball in quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ hands and let him roll early, especially since he missed all of last season. But, he didn’t play in the preseason and he’ll probably need a few series to shake off the rust.

Enter Breece Hall. The third-year pro has the chance to be one of the highest-producing running backs in the game this season. He rushed for 994 yards and five touchdowns and doesn’t have Dalvin Cook looking over his shoulder as he did a season ago.

Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis and Israel Abanikanda are there to help take some of the load off the former All-Big 12 performer for Iowa State. The return of Rodgers should force defenses out of the run fronts that Hall saw a season ago.

Getting Hall going early helps Rodgers on Monday and helps the Jets long-term.

Get to Purdy

The San Francisco 49ers should have left tackle Trent Williams into a new contract soon. That would get him to practice this week, but it’s unclear if he’ll play after he spent the entire offseason holding out for a new deal.

Whether he plays or not, it’s unlikely he’ll be at the All-Pro level opponents have come to expect. That gives the Jets’ pass rush a little opportunity to get to 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who has developed into one of the cooler customers under center.

Even as edge rusher Haason Reddick holds out for his own contract extension, New York has a group of pass rushers that can make Purdy’s life difficult all night.

Flip the Turnover Ratio

Winning games on the road in the NFL is tough. Creating turnovers help.

New York did a solid job of creating those mistakes last year, finishing with 27 turnovers — 17 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries. In fact, the Jets were in the Top 10 in that category.

But they were underwater in turnover ratio, as the Jets finished minus-6. That’s because New York didn’t protect the football well, as it committed 33 turnovers. That’s nearly two mistakes per game. Some of that was quarterback play, as Rodgers was hurt. His return should have some impact.

But a road game against the defending NFC champions means the Jets need to force a couple of turnovers and get their offense some extra chances to score while also protecting the football. Do that, and the Jets have a good chance to steal a win.