The San Francisco 49ers (0-1) are looking to rebound from Sunday's season-opening defeat against the Arizona Cardinals with a successful trip to the East Coast and two games at MetLife Stadium. That starts this weekend against the New York Jets (0-1) and concludes one week later against the New York Giants.
The defending NFC champions, who lost 24-20 on Sunday, open the week as seven-point favorites in their Week 2 matchup against the Jets, according to BetMGM.
The 49ers enter the game with a lot of questions. One of the more important is the status of All-Pro tight end George Kittle, who suffered a leg injury before halftime. While he continued playing after the injury, he was ineffective as a receiving target in the second half and held without a catch.
"I feel fantastic. Fantastic," Kittle said after the game. "Not an issue at all."
Of course, that may just be Kittle being Kittle. He suffered knee and ankle injuries during Week 9 last year, continued playing in that game, and then missed the next two.
Then you have the status of the 49ers' banged-up receiver group. Rookie Brandon Aiyuk wasn't healthy enough to play on Sunday after trying to return from a hamstring injury sustained during training camp. Second-year wideout Deebo Samuel will miss at least the next two games after being placed on short-term injured reserve. He suffered a Jones fracture in June.
Wide receiver Richie James, who also serves as the team's best return-man on special teams, left Sunday's game with a hamstring injury.
That left the 49ers with just four healthy receivers and one hobbled tight end for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Just four of Garoppolo's 33 attempts on Sunday went to 49ers receivers. Kendrick Bourne and Trent Taylor were the lone wideouts who hauled in passes against the Cardinals.
