3 bold Monday Night Football predictions for 49ers in Week 1 vs. Jets

The San Francisco 49ers are set to face off against the New York Jets on Sept. 9th in their Week 1 season opener. This key Monday Night Football matchup could set the tone for the rest of the season for the Niners.

The Niners are coming off another postseason heartbreak with their loss in the Super Bowl last February. This game could tell us a lot about whether the team is hellbent on redemption, or if this is the beginning of the end of this team's success under head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Niner Noise has already highlighted some potential problems for the 49ers ahead of this matchup as well as some players who need to thrive.

This article will make three bold predictions for the game.

Bold prediction No. 1: 49ers come out slow

It wouldn't be surprising if the Niners come out looking slow, sloppy, and a bit sluggish in this game.

While San Francisco was able to work out the contract situations with both wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams, neither of those guys played in the preseason or practiced much with the team. They both lost out on valuable reps.

Plus, running back Christian McCaffrey has been banged up and did not play in the preseason, which may have been the case even if he was healthy, but he may still take some time to find his footing.

All of this will add up to the 49ers offense coming out slow and taking some time to find their rhythm. Let's not forget Jets head coach Robert Saleh, the former defensive coordinator for the Niners, is on the other sideline, so you know he has some tricks up his sleeve for an offense he became familiar with over the years.

Bold prediction No. 2: 49ers defense allows Aaron Rodgers to go off

After injuring himself on the first drive of the first game of his Jets career last season, you know quarterback Aaron Rodgers is going to be determined to go off in this game.

He may be older, but he is still one of the most talented quarterbacks to ever play. Even though they've had his number in the postseason, he has had big games against the 49ers in the regular season.

Expect him to go off big time in this game against a largely new San Francisco secondary that is still learning to play together.

Bold prediction No. 3: 49ers run defense is (still) an issue

We know the 49ers struggled with their run defense at times last season.

That will continue again in Week 1.

Jets running back Breece Hall seems like he could be set up for a very big season, and he will get off to a hot start against the Niners on Monday night as they try to find their footing with a new-look defensive line and first-time defensive coordinator in Nick Sorensen.

Now, obviously, we hope all of these predictions do not come true, but we all know Week 1 can be a bit funky. Remember when the Detroit Lions beat the Kansas CityChiefs last year or when the Chicago Bears beat San Francisco in Week 1 to start the 2022 season?

As teams find their footing, upsets can definitely happen. It wouldn't be surprising if the Niners come out flat in this game and end up succumbing to the Jets even though the 49ers are clearly the better team on paper.

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