Already playing without tight end George Kittle, cornerback Richard Sherman, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and defensive lineman Dee Ford, the San Francisco 49ers lost four more players to injury on Sunday, including defensive end Nick Bosa and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, during a 31-13 win over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Following the game, many members of the 49ers organization blamed the rash of injuries on the new turf at the East Rutherford stadium, which was being used for just the second time.
Niners defensive lineman Arik Armstead, who called the tuft “trash” in a tweet after the game, told reporters the playing surface on the field “was pretty thick.”
“Guys seemed to be getting stuck in the ground more regularly,” Armstead said, according to The New York Post. “A bunch of guys went down, wasn’t real fun to be a part of.”
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan also indicated he felt the turf played a role in the injuries.
“I know that’s as many knee injuries and ankle stuff and people getting caught on the turf that I’ve ever been a part of,” Shanahan said. “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. I think that was the first time people played on it. That was something our guys were concerned about right away and the result definitely made that a lot stronger.”
Unfortunately for the 49ers, they will have to survive another battle with the turf this Sunday when they head back East Rutherford to take on the New York Giants in Week 3. Prior to that happening, the NFL’s field operations department will “take a closer look at the situation based on the concerns raised by the 49ers,” ProFootballTalk reported.
For what it’s worth, the Jets didn’t have any issues with the field itself on Sunday, just with the way they played on it. “We were too busy getting our faces kicked in to worry about the turf,” a Jets source told PFT.
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