San Francisco 49ers 30 – New York Giants 12

Brian Daboll – © USA TODAY Sports

SAN FRANCISCO 49ers 30 – NEW YORK GIANTS 12…
The New York Giants kept it close for a while, but they were soundly defeated 30-12 on Thursday night by a clearly better San Francisco 49ers team at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Giants are now 1-2 on the season.

Statistically, the game was not close. The 49ers dramatically out-gained the Giants in offensive snaps (78 to 46), first downs (26 to 10), total net yards (441 to 150), net yards rushing (141 to 29), net yards passing (300 to 121), and time of possession (39:10 to 20:50). The 49ers were also 9-of-16 on 3rd down (56 percent) while the Giants were only 3-of-12 (25 percent).

Most of the 1st quarter was taken up by each team’s opening possession. The 49ers received the football to start the game, driving 64 yards in 15 plays. However, the New York defense stiffened at their own 11-yard line with three straight incompletions by quarterback Brock Purdy. The 49ers settled for a 28-yard field goal.

The Giants’ first drive gained 49 yards on 12 plays. Place kicker Graham Gano converted on his 44-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3 with 3:18 left in the quarter. San Fransisco picked up one first down and then punted the ball away on their second possession. The Giants then went three-and-out.

It was in the 2nd quarter where the 49ers began to pull away. San Fransisco’s third offensive possession was an 11-play, 72-yard drive resulted in a 9-yard touchdown pass. After a second consecutive three-and-out by the Giants, the 49ers put together a virtually identical scoring drive, this one traveling 73 yards in 11 plays with running back Christian McCaffrey scoring from four yards out. The 49ers were now up 17-3 with 1:40 left in the half.

On New York’s fourth and final possession of the first half, the team did manage to put another field goal on the board after picking up 37 yards on eight plays. Gano’s 57-yard field goal cut the score to 17-6 at the break.

The two teams exchanged punts early in the 3rd quarter. The 49ers were flagged with a 15-yard fair catch interference penalty, setting up the Giants on the San Fransisco 37-yard line to start their second possession of the half. After a 7-yard pass, the 49ers were also flagged with a 22-yard pass interference penalty at the 8-yard line. On the very next snap, running back Matt Breida scored from eight yards out, cutting the score to 17-12. The 2-point conversion failed.

The 49ers responded with another 11-play drive that gained 72 yards. The New York defense stiffened again the red zone, holding the 49ers to a 21-yard field goal. San Fransisco extended their lead to 20-12.

The Giants went three-and-out and punted the ball away. The 49ers then drove 51 yards in eight plays to set up a 36-yard field goal that made the score 23-12 early in the 4th quarter. Down by 11 points with 12:47 to play, New York needed to make something happen. But the result was another three-and-out. The 49ers then put the game to bed with an 8-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 27-yard touchdown throw. With just under six minutes to play, the 49ers had a commanding 30-12 advantage.

The Giants gained two of their 10 first downs on the ensuing drive. But this ended with an interception after quarterback Daniel Jones’ pass went off the hands of tight end Darren Waller with 3:39 left in the game. The last few minutes were uneventful as the game had already been decided.

Jones completed 22-of-32 passes for 137 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. He was sacked twice and only gained five rushing yards on two carries. His leading receiver was Parris Campbell with six catches for just 24 yards. The team’s leading ground gainer was Breida with just 17 yards on four carries.

Defensively, for the third game, the Giants did not force a turnover. They did accrue their first two sacks of the season, one by linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux and half sacks by defensive linemen Leonard Williams and D.J. Davidson. Linebacker Micah McFadden lead the team with 10 tackles, including four for losses. However, the defense did give up 441 offensive yards and six scoring drives.

GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS are available on YouTube.

PRACTICE SQUAD ACTIVATIONS, INACTIVES, AND INJURY REPORT…
The Giants activated (standard elevation) OL Jaylon Thomas and OLB Oshane Ximines from the Practice Squad to the 53-man roster.

Inactive for the game were RB Saquon Barkley (ankle), LT Andrew Thomas (hamstring), OG Ben Bredeson (concussion), OLB Azeez Ojulari (hamstring), DL Jordon Riley, CB Cor’Dale Flott, and S Gervarrius Owens.

CB Deonte Banks (arm) and DL D.J. Davidson (elbow) left the game with injuries. X-rays on Banks’ arm were negative, but he will undergo an MRI on Friday. RT Evan Neal appeared to injure his ankle late in the game but said he was OK.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Brian Daboll and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

• Head Coach Brian Daboll (Video)
• QB Daniel Jones (Video)
• WR Wan’Dale Robinson (Video)
• DL Dexter Lawrence (Video)
• OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (Video)
• ILB Bobby Okereke (Video)

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Brian Daboll will address the media by conference call on Friday.