Key moments: 49ers throttle Giants in Week 3, 39-6
The 49ers were down nine key players by the time Sunday’s game against the Giants ended.
But it didn’t appear to hinder the NFC champs, who thumped the Giants 36-9 in New Jersey on Sunday to improve to 2-1.
Even without Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman and a slew of others, the 49ers were clearly better than the despondent home team that lost star running back Saquon Barkley for the season last week to a knee injury.
The 49ers outgained New York 420-231, and had the advantage in plays run, 73-49, in their second straight game at MetLife Stadium in which they sat starters for some of the fourth quarter.
Backup quarterback Nick Mullens, in place of Garoppolo, was excellent, completing 25 of 36 for 343 yards with a touchdown pass. Rookie receiver Brandon Aiyuk had 101 yards from scrimmage and his first NFL score. Running backs Jeff Wilson Jr. and Jerick McKinnon combined for three touchdowns.
Here are the key moments.
First quarter
▪ The 49ers opened the game with a 10-play, 41-yard drive that included a pair of third-down conversions. But it resulted in a 52-yard field goal from Robbie Gould that was nearly blocked. New York safety Jabrill Peppers was banged up on the play.
Mullens completed 3 of 5 for 34 yards and rookie receiver Brandon Aiyuk was given two jet sweep carries after getting two touchdowns total last week in his NFL debut.
▪ The 49ers forced their second turnover of the season when tight end Evan Engram bobbled a pitch on a jet sweep. Dion Jordan, making his debut after being promoted from the practice squad, jumped on the fumble giving the road team the ball at the Giants’ 41-yard line.
The result was another field goal after right guard Daniel Brunskill was flagged for illegal hands to the face negating a touchdown pass to McKinnon. On the next play, tight end Jordan Reed appeared to injure his lower left leg while trying to keep two feet in bounds on a pass that was ruled incomplete. It was a 12-play, 38 yard drive, making it 6-0, San Francisco.
Through two possessions, San Francisco converted 4-of-6 on third down. And Reed was ruled questionable to return with a left ankle injury.
Second quarter
▪ Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley left the game after colliding with safety Jaquiski Tartt while trying to tackle quarterback Daniel Jones on a designed scramble. The 49ers were already thin at corner with Richard Sherman on injured reserve and Ahkello Witherspoon ruled out before the game after tweaking his hamstring during the week of practice in West Virginia.
The Giants’ possession ended in a 52-yard field goal after pressure up the middle forced an inaccurate deep throw from Jones to Darius Slayton.
▪ Reed returned to the game on San Francisco’s next possession after getting his ankle checked and re-taped in the locker room. Mullens had two passes, which were closely defended, bang off the hands of Kendrick Bourne and Reed, leading to a missed field goal from 55 yards, Gould’s first miss of the season. Long snapper Kyle Nelson was not sharp in the early going.
▪ New York had to settle for a field goal attempt on the ensuing possession because rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw batted a third-down pass at the line of scrimmage. Graham Gano was good from 42 yards to tie the game, 6-6.
▪ Bourne caught a pair of passes, Mullens was sacked by Leonard Williams, but then the Giants had a stop on third-and-22 negated by an illegal contact on a Giants defensive back Darnay Holmes to extend the drive near midfield. Mullens then found Ross Dwelley, making his third grab, over the middle and into field goal range.
▪ Dwelley made another catch in the right flat, forced two missed tackles and scampered for a 14-yard gain down to the Giants’ 21. McKinnon followed it up with his best two runs of the day, a 11-yarder through the right side of the defense, and another from 10 yards out for a touchdown, his third score in three games.
▪ Linebacker Fred Warner then continued his strong start to his third season. Two snaps after the touchdown, he sat on Engram’s route beautifully and intercepted Jones, giving the 49ers the ball back at New York’s 32 with 59 seconds remaining in the half.
McKinnon then made a deep, leaping grab down to the 6, but two plays later, after a 49ers penalty, didn’t get out of bounds to stop the clock. Instead he spun inside and forced Kyle Shanahan to use the team’s last timeout with 9 seconds remaining.
The 49ers had to settle for another Gould field goal to take a 16-6 lead into the break.
Third quarter
▪ The Giants converted a fourth-and-2 near midfield, but the drive stalled out after offsetting penalties negated a long run from Jones, who had 49 of the Giants’ 66 rushing yards to this point. Gano hit from 47 yards to make it 16-9. It capped a 6:54 drive, nearly doubling up their time of possession from the first half.
▪ Brandon Aiyuk, the No. 25 pick in the draft, started to come alive with a big series in the third quarter. He made catches of 14, 19 and 6 yards before being given a reverse toss for an easy 19-yard score. The play was designed so well that Aiyuk’s blockers had no one to block and he went in untouched. It was his first NFL score and it made the score 23-9.
▪ The 49ers defense stood up against the Giants’ offense deep in their own territory, stopping Jones inches short on a fourth-down quarterback sneak.
Fourth quarter
▪ The 49ers scored their second touchdown of the half on a well-designed screen. This one also saw excellent blocking for reserve running back Jeff Wilson Jr., who made it 29-9 with his 19-yard catch and run.
Wilson scored another touchdown to cap an impressive drive from Mullens. San Francisco put the nail in the coffin, making it 35-9 with 3:35 to play.
This story was originally published September 27, 2020 at 11:36 AM.
