While the SF 49ers pulled off a win versus the Jets in Week 2, Kyle Shanahan and Arik Armstead weren’t pleased with the turf at MetLife Stadium.
The SF 49ers may have won their Week 2 road game over the New York Jets on Sunday, pulling off a one-sided 31-13 victory over what’s turning into a hapless opponent in the AFC East.
But the biggest opponent for head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. during the game proved not to be the Jets, rather the field at MetLife Stadium.
The Niners suffered a slew of critical injuries during the game, most notably losing defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas to potentially season-ending ACL tears. Medical tests on Monday will reveal the extent of both players’ injuries, but the initial fears are certainly worrisome.
Bosa went down when his left leg bent back awkwardly, requiring a cart to be helped off the field. A few plays later, Thomas also went down with a non-contact injury and needed to be carted off, too.
Not good at all.
After the game, Shanahan called out the field, which NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported was only two weeks old:
In the first half, there were five leg injuries between the two teams. This is the second game on brand new turf at MetLife Stadium. This is ridiculous. #49ers #NYJets
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) September 20, 2020
“That’s as many knee injuries and ankle stuff, and people getting caught on the turf as I’ve ever been a part of,” Shanahan said after the game. “From what I saw, the other team did, too. I know our players talked about it the entire game, just how sticky the turf was. … It was something our guys were concerned about right away, and the results definitely made that a lot stronger.
Kyle Shanahan is live from New York to analyze the Week 2 WIN.
Posted by San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, September 20, 2020
SF 49ers Arik Armstead brutally honest about MetLife turf
Defensive tackle Arik Armstead, who was expected to repeat something like the 10-sack campaign he enjoyed alongside Bosa in 2019, was much more blunt about his frustration with the field at MetLife Stadium:
“@nfl fix this trash met life turf. 2020 is so wack,” Armstead tweeted out shortly after the game.
Bosa and Thomas weren’t the only two players to suffer lower-body injuries during the game. Running back Raheem Mostert exited the game after halftime with a knee injury, and fellow runner Tevin Coleman also exited with an apparent knee issue, too.
Shanahan said both players were affected by the field conditions, although the severity of both Mostert and Coleman’s injuries isn’t expected to be anything close to those of Bosa and Thomas.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo also suffered a high-ankle sprain and exited after halftime, although Garoppolo’s injury occurred during a sack by Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
“Unfortunately, this place we need to go back to next week,” Shanahan added.
San Francisco will stay on the East Coast in advance of its Week 3 contest versus the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants, 0-2 after losing on the road to the Chicago Bears, also lost one of their star players, running back Saquon Barkley, to a torn ACL during their Week 2 bout.
For the SF 49ers, however, playing on the same field again will create some massive concerns about the team’s health, both in the interim and over the long run.
And all one has to know is both Shanahan and Armstead aren’t fans of how the field held up in Week 2, while Bosa and Thomas paid a serious price.