As someone who can only watch this sport in “coach mode,” the grumpy part is in me. There is always something to correct. Nothing is ever perfect, even when the score seems out of reach for the opponent; every play matters.

The San Francisco 49ers had complete control of the team that many ranked #1 in the NFL. And even when the Niners were down 7-3, their control over the game was palpable.

You could feel the dam breaking. While it never quite did, the offense pushed its way into Jets territory on every possession after the first. At the same time, the defense held off Aaron Rodgers, Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson all night long.

Let’s take a look at the winners and losers of Monday Night Football, the strategic decisions and their impact on the game.

Winners

Jordan Mason

I asked Kyle Shanahan during the preseason how much confidence he had in Mason. Kyle said, “I have a ton of confidence” in the undrafted free agent who had never had a full workload. We’d find out if that was coaching speak or if Shanahan liked giving Mason the ball.

Mason caught his one target for a first down on a third down where the 49ers had to stay on the field. So we had a high volume and a target on the money down. That should put any doubts about the coaching staff’s confidence in Mason to rest.

Mason had eight carries inside the tackles and averaged 6.4 yards per rush on those carries. He averaged 3.9 yards after contact and had the third-highest rushing EPA in Week 1 among all running backs when rushing inside the tackles.

Mason ran for 147 yards on a night the Jets stacked the box 50 percent of the time, and that must have been music to Shanahan’s ears. Mason had an expected 30 yards rushing, which was fourth in the NFL.

The most impressive stat from Mason’s night was the eight carries he had of at least 15 mph. The only player with more in Week 1 was a guy named Lamar Jackson.

Adam Schefter hinted that Christian McCaffrey will not play next week against the Minnesota Vikings. McCaffrey’s calf injury has been lingering for over a month. After Mason’s performance and looking at the schedule, I’m not sure CMC should play before the Niners take on the Dallas Cowboys.

The Niners defense

The 49ers were terrible against the run last season. It was one of the few concerns we had going into Monday night. It was the first game without Arik Armstead and Dre Greenlaw, and the thinking was that Breece Hall would be more effective if he went from Zach Wilson to Aaron Rodgers.

He wasn’t.

Hall rushed for 54 yards on 16 carries, and one of those rushes was for 16 yards. So the 49ers held Hall, a productive runner, to 2.5 yards per carry on 15 attempts.

The Niners’ 68 yards allowed were the second-fewest in Week 1. The number that stands out is -0.17. That’s the yards before contact they allowed, which was the most in the NFL.

The 49ers loaded the box on just 10 percent of their snaps. They stopped the run without extra defenders and did so without relying on a bunch of tackles for loss. That tells me Monday night’s performance is sustainable going forward.

The attack line

Not having Hassan Reddick in the lineup helped, but Quinnen Williams is one of the NFL’s best players and Robert Saleh knows the 49ers offense inside and out. You’d think the Jets would have a few tricks up their sleeve to outsmart the 49ers up front.

It was dicey early on. On the game’s first dropback, Williams clobbered Colton McKivitz and bull-rushed him into Brock Purdy. Jake Brendel was on Purdy’s lap on another dropback early in the game.

The block then set in. Purdy was pressured on just 25 percent of his dropbacks after those two early pressures. And even if you include those, Purdy was one of the least pressured quarterbacks in Week 1.

To better contextualize Purdy’s pressure numbers, the 49ers offense ranked third in “Time to pressure against” in Week 1 at 3.2 seconds, which is an excellent number and almost a full second higher than the league average. This stat indicates that the offensive line gave Purdy ample time to make decisions in the pocket, which significantly reduced the pressure on him. Purdy had time to shoot another Applebee’s commercial in the pocket.

You don’t run 150+ yards on your own. The line cleared the way for Mason and Deebo Samuel, giving them 1.49 yards before contact. Again, that number is skewed by the fact that the Jets had 8+ defenders in the box on half of their snaps. A “light box” refers to a defensive formation with fewer defenders near the line of scrimmage, making it easier for the offense to run the ball. But that makes the team’s 44 percent rushing success rate all the more notable. For reference, the Niners nearly equaled the Chicago Bears’ success on the ground, despite the Bears facing a light box 45 percent more often.

Dominick Puni was as advertised. Trent Williams was busted twice in 65 snaps. And even with Aaron Banks gone, Spencer Burford looked comfortable:

Losers

Scoring in the red zone

Scoring 32 points against the Jets is a feat. But when we look at the bigger picture and what could hinder the 49ers going forward, it’s capitalizing on every opportunity they have to maximize their output on the scoreboard.

Before the season started, I spoke with someone I respect a lot when it comes to evaluating teams. He said that this 49ers team is the best he’s seen in the last seven years, and he gave them a higher power rating than anyone else in that span. And not by a little bit, but seven points. A full touchdown!

So when you think about what this team can do and who they can become, you want them to score a touchdown drive when they’re on 1st & 10 at the Jets’ 32-yard line.

On 3rd-and-5 from New York’s 29-yard line, there’s no reason to run a trick play that requires you to throw the ball to your quarterback, especially when you just picked up 14 yards on the previous third down.

The first half drive was brilliant. The offense held the ball for the last 5:14 of the second quarter and milked the clock while getting three points. There were no complaints about that and we saw Rodgers score in the blink of an eye. That was the best clock management you’ll ever see from Shanahan.

Brock’s shaky third-quarter drive ended with a 53-yard fumble by Moody.

A 4th & 1 attempt had some fans questioning Shanahan, but his left tackle needed an IV. When you’re making decisions based on the flow of the game, there was little reason to worry about a field goal. New York had shown no pulse on offense, needing two touchdowns and two conversions to tie the game with nine minutes left. Sure enough, they gave it away on the next drive and pulled Rodgers.

The final goal came as the 49ers tried to run out the clock, and a 3rd & 2 attempt ended in a sack by Purdy.

At first glance, the 49ers failed miserably when they were given scoring opportunities, but if you think about it, it’s easy to conclude that all of this is correctable in the future.

Third down defense

The Jets were 6 of 10 on third down. Allen Lazard dropped an easy first down to start the game, taking the air out of the Jets’ balloon.

There was a 3rd & 8 where Deommodore Lenoir was in perfect position, but it was a better throw and catch for a 16 yard completion. That’s a play you can live with.

Wilson running wide open over the middle and George Odum being two steps too slow on 3rd & 7 is not something you can live with. Rinse, wash, repeat. On the next third down, just switch sides and Wilson converts again.

The defensive line pressured Rodgers on the next two third-down attempts to force incompletions. Is that what this defense is going to rely on? Pressure with four? It didn’t look like Nick Sorensen had many blitzes in his debut.

Rodgers found Lazard for a long touchdown on the ensuing third-down attempt. Ji’Ayir Brown was too late to reach the middle of the field.

The other conversions came during garbage time, but the biggest stop came in the fourth quarter. Hall tried to run up the middle, but Brown and practice squad call-up Sam Okuayinonu made the stop. That led to an Isaac Yiadom deflection on fourth down and a turnover on downs.

So again, it doesn’t look great on the stat sheet when you allow a team to convert 60 percent of their third downs, but the Niners could benefit from tightening up their coverage up the middle.

Winners

The role players

Mason qualifies as a role player, but Kyle Juszczyk was incredible in the running game, making the long 34-yard reception. Jauan Jennings caught all five of his targets for 64 yards. Jennings is a matchup nightmare and a walking first down. Eric Saubert also had a couple of meaningful blocks.

Leonard Floyd may not qualify as a role player given his history, but he had four pressures and ranked 11th in pressure percentage among all defensive linemen. More importantly, Floyd caused two turnovers in four of those pressures. He makes an impact when he’s out there.

Isaac Yiadom allowed a long catch, but had a fourth-down deflection and allowed 29 yards on four targets. That will play.

Maliek Collins had two run stops, allowing him to attack the passer. And De’Vondre Campbell didn’t get burned in the passing game like Green Bay Packers fans would have you believe.

Special teams

Mitch Wishnowsky had one punt for 58 yards. One punt is the story here, but 58 yards isn’t bad either. Jacob Cowing fielded the ball cleanly on both punt return attempts.

Jake Moody was 8-for-8 and good with room to spare from 53 yards. The 49ers gave the Jets three chances to return kicks, and there were no glaring missed tackles. It was the biggest win of the night after the coverage units looked sloppy in the preseason. Ideally, Moody would kick the ball out of the end zone every time, but Xavier Gipson is a dangerous return man, and his longest was 28 yards, while the Niners held him to 22 on another attempt.