FULL BOX SCORE
Kevin Patra’s takeaways:
- Niners roll over Giants on the road. Mac Jones paper-cut a beleaguered Big Blue defense to death early, completing all 14 of his pass attempts in the first half as San Francisco opened the game with two easy touchdown drives to take a lead it would never relinquish. Jones found open targets short and intermediate. With questions along the offensive line, the Niners didn’t attempt a deep shot all game. They didn’t need to. In the second half, San Francisco leaned on Christian McCaffrey and the ground game, churning out first downs. CMC broke tackles, keeping the offense in positive situations against a good Giants front. McCaffrey generated 173 scrimmage yards, netting 106 rushing yards and a touchdown on 28 totes and added a game-high 67 receiving yards on five catches with another score. When the running back is rolling, the Niners are tough to hold down.
- Dart continues to battle as Giants lose third straight. Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart continues to make plays despite less-than-ideal situations. Dart’s poise in the pocket is beyond his years. The quarterback makes defenders miss in a phone booth while still keeping his eyes downfield. Dart went 24 of 33 passing for 191 yards and two TDs for a 107.0 passer rating. The signal-caller also led the Giants with eight carries for 56 yards and a score. As that last stat underscores, Dart doesn’t have enough help around him at this stage. His targets dropped several passes early that could have extended drives, and the ground game found little traction. Even in a blowout, Dart kept battling and battling. Without him, this would have been a 20-point shellacking.
- Niners’ D does enough but still needs some help. An injury-ravaged defense made pivotal plays to get off the field in the first half, forcing three three-and-outs through two quarters that allowed it to build a double-digit lead. Robert Saleh’s crew also stood tall after a Jones fumble late in the half, allowing zero yards on the change of possession, and Big Blue missed a field goal. The pass rush earned two sacks, but still lacks consistency. San Francisco earned 11 total QB pressures, five from Sam Okuayinonu. To make matters worse, rookie Mykel Williams, who has played a pivotal role, left with an injury. Will general manager John Lynch make a move to improve the defense ahead of the trade deadline?
Next Gen Stats Insight for 49ers-Giants (via NFL Pro): Mac Jones completed 19 of 24 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns in Week 9 against the Giants, averaging his quickest time to throw (2.36 seconds) since Week 12, 2023.
NFL Research: Christian McCaffrey set an NFL record with his 16th career game with both a rushing and receiving score, breaking a tie with Marshall Faulk.
