Will Saleh beat the vice-champion with Rodgers?
A real treat awaits in the “Monday Night Game” at the end of the first week in the National Football League. According to our forecast, the clash between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets offers everything that football enthusiasts have been waiting months for!
The bookmakers agree: Kyle Shanahan’s team is one of the most serious contenders to win the Super Bowl again this year. However, there were numerous changes in the offseason and the preparation for the new season was rather suboptimal.
And with the “Green Gang”? There is hope that star quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the outstanding defense will carry the team a long way! Perhaps the longest playoff drought in US sport will come to an end this season. If Rodgers, unlike last season, stays fit, the first winning record in eight years seems within reach. Can the franchise led by head coach Robert Saleh, who has a special connection to Shanahan and San Francisco, cause a sensation in the first match? When the 49ers host the Jets, a bet on a win for the visitors at Sunmaker, for example, offers great value:
San Francisco 49ers – Statistics & current form
After all, the good things come to the end, but we would like to start on a positive note with the Niners. The saga surrounding Brandon Aiyuk has come to an end. Just in time one week before the start of the season, the best wide receiver signed a new contract with the Californians. The negotiations overshadowed the entire offseason in the Bay Area. On Tuesday, there was finally some positive news about offensive tackle Trent Williams, who had been on holdout for weeks. He agreed to a new contract with the Niners shortly before the start of the season and will be available right away in week one.
The preparation, including training camps and preseason games, was characterized by injuries. The joint training camp with the New Orleans Saints even had to be canceled due to 23 injured players. Nevertheless, the franchise has one of the best rosters in the entire league. Let’s stay with the offense for now. Playmaker Brock Purdy is entering his second season as starting quarterback, and his playmakers are almost unchanged from last year.
Outstanding offensive power for the 49ers
In addition to Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, there is even another promising name in the passing game. The Niners selected wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in April’s draft, but he has yet to play due to minor injuries. Last week, Pearsall was shot in a robbery, so his debut will definitely be postponed. From experience, running back Christian McCaffrey will also continue to play a role in the passing game. After the season-ending injury to Elijah Mitchell, the backups are Jordan Mason, Patrick Taylor Jr. and rookie Isaac Guerendo. It can’t be ruled out that McCaffrey’s workload in the rungame will decrease somewhat this season.
However, there are big changes on defense. In addition to the new coordinator Nick Sorensen, there are numerous new faces who ensure that this unit is almost completely overhauled. With Erik Armstead, Chase Young and Randy Gregory, important players have left the Bay Area. The first few weeks will show how adequately these players have been replaced. It cannot be ruled out that this unit will need time to find its feet. For this very reason, a bet on the visitors between the 49ers and Jets should not be completely ignored.
Key Players:
- QB: Brock Purdy
- RB: Christian McCaffrey
- WR: Brandon Aiyuk
- TE: George Kittle
- K: Jake Moody
New York Jets – Statistics & current form
Review: The Jets brought in quarterback Rodgers from Green Bay and put a lot of hope in the four-time MVP. However, after just a few snaps in his first game for the Green Gang, he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and was out for the rest of the season. So now entering year two, the New Jersey franchise’s season hinges heavily on the 40-year-old’s performance.
The organization has failed to qualify for the postseason since 2010, but the signs are good this year. With playmakers like Zach Wilson, Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle, Saleh’s team posted a 7-10 record last season, so even before the first matchup between the 49ers and Jets, we dare to predict that the visiting offense will be much improved. There will be no shortage of good pass receivers, as Garrett Wilson is entering his third season there. He will be partnered by Allen Lazard, who Rodgers brought with him from the Packers, as well as Mike Williams and Xavier Gipson. This unit is unquestionably one of the better ones in the league
Prediction on a top-10 offense for the Jets!
The star quarterback gets a slightly improved offensive line compared to the preseason, which will also help the running game. They have one of the best running backs in the entire league in Breece Hall. We would definitely project him to have his first 1,000-yard rushing season. He has also been an important target in the passing game recently. In total, he recorded 14 successful end zone visits in 17 games in 2023. If he scores a touchdown in week one when the 49ers host the Jets, attractive odds are available on the markets.
That the defense is the showpiece for a head coach like Saleh is probably less surprising. A look at the statistics shows just how good this unit was. Only two teams allowed fewer yards per game than the Green Gang in the last regular season, but they lost two important players in Bryce Huff and John Franklin-Myers. Reinforcements theoretically came from Philadelphia in the form of Haason Reddick, but he will only play once he has received a new contract. However, the fronts seem to have hardened and the 29-year-old defensive end has asked to be traded again. In combination with the secondary of this unit, which includes talented personnel such as C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams, Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed, the defensive side should be enormously strong again!
Key Players:
- QB: Aaron Rodgers
- RB: Breece Hall
- WR: Garrett Wilson
- TE: Tyler Conklin
- K: Greg Zuerlein
San Francisco 49ers – New York Jets head-to-head comparison / H2H record
Before we look at the head-to-head comparison, let’s take a look at the connection between Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh. The 45-year-old Saleh was defensive coordinator in San Francisco between 2017 and 2021 and comes from Shanahan’s coaching tree. In the long history of the two franchises, there have only been 14 direct matchups, of which the team from the Bay Area has come out on top eleven times. A small ray of hope for the Jets could be that they were able to celebrate two of their three wins against the Niners in California.
San Francisco 49ers – New York Jets Tip
We trust the Green Gang to win again in Santa Clara. Above all, it is the changes in the hosts’ defense that lead us to this prediction. Rodgers, who is known to have a special connection to San Francisco, will be able to take advantage of this with his playmakers. Whether the Niners will be able to unleash their full potential in offense against a strong NY unit is also doubtful.
If you’re not afraid to take a risk, you could give the visitors an attractive handicap. In a comparison of the various bookmakers, this is usually around 3.5 points. However, we choose the higher odds between the 49ers and Jets and thus bet on the fourth success of the franchise from New Jersey against the five-time Super Bowl champions.
The over/under of 43.5 points is too high for us in the final clash of week one. Since we expect a very strong performance from the visitors’ defense, we do not believe that this point limit will be reached.
