49ers Rout Jets: Noteworthy performances

It should surprise nobody that the 49ers have a few noteworthy numbers following their 34-0 beatdown of the New York Jets. Even with some areas for improvement, the 49ers put together several noteworthy performances in all three phases of the game. Aldon Smith continues his tear with a pair of sacks. He had a chance for a third but had it called back on a penalty.

The 49ers rushing attack had their way with the Jets even as Frank Gore had a low key day. Gore rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, but the 49ers got a big day from Kendall Hunter. The second year back rushed eight times for 56 yards, marking his best performance of the season.

Special teams had their ups and downs, with David Akers missing a pair of field goals, but Larry Grant blocked a punt to set up the 49ers final touchdown. Thankfully, Akers misses did not come back to bite the 49ers. This marked only his second appearance at the stadium, so hopefully it is just a minor case of the yips.

Thanks to the 49ers PR department for providing these notes:

With a Win...

• The 49ers improved to 3-1 for the second consecutive season. The last time San Francisco started 3-1 in back-to-back years was 2001-02.
• San Francisco is 5-2 in September games under Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. Only George Seifert and Steve Mariucci had better records after their first two Septembers at the helm (Seifert - 6-0; Mariucci 7-0).
• The 49ers stayed perfect in games after a loss under Harbaugh. They are currently 3-0 after a defeat.
• Harbaugh improved to 4-1 against AFC opponents and 1-0 against the AFC East.
• The 49ers improved their overall record vs. the Jets to 10-2, including 6-1 on the road.
• San Francisco became 3-0 under Harbaugh in the second leg of back-to-back road games.

Defensive Display:

• The 49ers registered their first shutout on the road since 1/6/02 at NO (38-0). It also marked just the 2^nd shut out for any team at MetLife Stadium [GB win vs. NYJ - 9-0 (10/31/10)].
• The 49ers defense limited the Jets to just 145 total net yds. of offense, the lowest total net yds. allowed since 1/3/10 at StL (109 yds.).

Greedy Defense:

• The 49ers defense registered 4 takeaways on the day (1 INT, 3 FRs), marking the most by the 49ers since 12/19/11 vs. Pit. (3 INTs, 1 FR).

Rogers Picks Up 6:

• CB Carlos Rogers set a career-high with 2 FRs, returning one 51 yds. for a TD. The TD return by Rogers marked his 3^rd career TD and 1^st on a FR.

Knocking It Loose:

• S Dashon Goldson notched his 1^st FF of the season and 5^th of his career, jarring the ball from Jets TE Dedrick Epps. The fumble was recovered by CBCarlos Rogers, marking his 2^nd FR of the season and 5th of his career. It also marked the first time Rogers tallied a FR in consecutive weeks [1 FR at Min. (9/23)].

Willis Feeling Picky:

• LB Patrick Willis registered his 6^th career INT and 1^st of the season, after DT Ray McDonald tipped the pass at the line of scrimmage.

Applying Pressure:

• The 49ers defense registered 3.0 sacks of Jets QB Mark Sanchez on the day, all of which came on 3^rd down.
• LB Aldon Smith tallied 2.0 sacks, marking his 5^th career game with 2-or-more sacks.
• Smith notched his 1^st sack of the game as he brought down Sanchez on 3^rd-n-3 in the 1^st qtr.
• Smith recorded his 2^nd sack on Sanchez and knocked the ball out on 3^rd-n-7, marking his 1^st FF of the season and 3^rd of his career. The fumble was recovered by DT Justin Smith, 99omarking his 1^st FR of the season and 9^th of his career. The takeaway led to a 36-yd. FG by K David Akers right before halftime.
• LB Ahmad Brooks notched his 2^nd sack of the season and 22^nd of his career, bringing down Sanchez on a 3^rd-n-1 play.

Ground and Pound:

• The 49ers rushed for a season-high 245 yds. on 44 carries as 9 different players carried the ball. It marked the most rushing yds. by the 49ers since 11/29/10 at Arz. (261 rushing yds.).
• Since Rex Ryan was named head coach of New York in 2009, the Jets have been one of the stingiest defenses in the NFL. The 245 rushing yds. by the 49ers were the most the Jets allowed in a single game under Ryan.
• RB Frank Gore rushed for 62 yds. and 1 TD on 21 carries. The 2-yd. TD run by Gore marked his 3^rd of the season and 46^th of his career.
• RB Kendall Hunter added 56 yds. and 1 TD on 8 carries. The 1-yd. TD run by Hunter marked his first of the season and 3^rd of his career.

Niners Run the WildKap:

• QB Colin Kaepernick notched the first TD of his career on a 7-yd. TD run.
• On the day, Kaepernick rushed for a career-high 50 yds. and 1 TDs on 5 carries.

Block Party:

• LB Larry Grant notched his first career punt block in the 4^th qtr. The ball went out of out of bounds at the Jets 4-yd. line. It marked the first blocked punt by the 49ers since 10/3/10 at Atl. (WR Dominique Zeigler blocked P Michael Koenen's punt).

Making His Debut:

• TE Garrett Celek made his 49ers debut.

Extending Their Streaks:

• TE/LS Brian Jennings has now played in 196 consecutive games.
• DT Justin Smith has now started 175 consecutive games, dating back to his rookie season in 2001. Smith's consecutive start streak ranks 3^rd among defensive players, behind Ronde Barber (203) and London Fletcher (183), and 4^th among all NFL players, behind Barber, Fletcher and Jeff Backus (179),
• TE Vernon Davis has now started 79 consecutive games, which ranks 3^rd in the NFL among TEs behind Tony Gonzalez (90) and Jason Witten (86).
• C Jonathan Goodwin played in his 153^th career NFL game. He has now started 58 consecutive games tied for the 5^th most among centers.
• K David Akers has now played in 109 consecutive NFL games, the 3^rd most in the NFL among kickers.
• P Andy Lee played has played in 121 consecutive NFL games, the 4^th most among NFL punters.