The defending NFC champions fell flat on their faces in Week 1. The San Francisco 49ers will look to snatch their first win of the 2020 NFL season this weekend against the New York Jets, who are also coming off a loss. Check out our preview of this game below.
There’s no need to push the panic button for the 49ers despite losing their season opener to the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday at home, 24-20. However, they have already equaled the lone loss they had against division opponents last year. The 49ers need Jimmy Garoppolo to be better. Garoppolo went 19 for 33 for 259 passing yards and two touchdowns without an interception in Week 1, but was sacked three times for a loss of 16 yards and. He also went just 8 for 17 in the second half. He also has to share the blame for why San Francisco went just 2 for 11 on third downs. That said, the 49ers were missing wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk in that game. Not only that, but the 49ers are also unsure whether star tight end George Kittle will be able to suit up in Week 2 after spraining his knee against Arizona. Still, Garoppolo can put up a solid performance against the Jets’ defense that got lit up by Josh Allen last Sunday.
The Jets could miss the services of star running back Le’Veon Bell for weeks after he suffered a hamstring injury in last Sunday’s 27-17 road loss to the Buffalo Bills. It’s definitely not good news for the Jets, who will have to count on the ageless Frank Gore to deliver the goods out of the backfield if Bell does indeed gets ruled out for the coming weeks. Gore rushed six times for 24 yards in the loss to the Bills. The 49ers had a stout defense last year, but in Week 1, they got roasted by the Cardinals, particularly on the ground. The Cards rushed 36 times and scored twice on 36 carries. Sam Darnold went 21-of-35 for 215 passing yards and a touchdown with an interception, and was sacked three times in the Buffalo game. Darnold played badly in Week 1, failing to sustain any serious form of momentum for the Jets, who produced just 254 total yards against 404 by the Bills. The silver lining for the Jets was the play of wide receiver Jamison Crowder, who had 117 receiving yards and a TD on seven catches. Marcus Maye also had two of the Jets’ three sacks. He’ll be an asset for the Jets, as they look to solve the 49ers’ offensive line that gave up three sacks in Week 1.
The Jets are 3-1 against the spread in their last four home games.
