Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers gave up an opening drive touchdown, and the immediate thought was, “Here we go again.” The New York Giants marched 64 yards in ten plays that took just over four minutes off the clock to take an early 7-0 lead.
Unlike last week, the offense punched back. They stayed on the field for 12 plays, taking over six and a half minutes off the clock, before finding the end zone to tie the game at seven. Mac Jones went 6-for-6 on the drive. Christian McCaffrey had his longest run of the season, and Jordan Watkins had a much-needed contested catch.
Upton Stout had a tackle for loss to begin the next defensive drive, and made a stop on third down after Dee Winters made a sideline-to-sideline tackle for a three-and-out.
Jones connected with Kyle Juszczyk for 12 yards on the first play of the next drive. Christian McCaffrey had 20 yards on his next two carries, and Brian Robinson followed that up with a 16-yarder. Not to be outdone, Kendrick Bourne also chipped in with a 21-yard reception.
Then, on 3rd & 5, Jauan Jennings ran a “return” route to shake free from the coverage and score from 11 yards out to give the 49ers a 14-7 lead. A fresh defense allowed 15 yards on the next drive, but forced a punt after a pair of pre-snap penalties against the Giants. That was surprising, as the crowd seemed to influence them.
After crossing midfield, Jones threw short to McCaffrey on 3rd & 7. The offense would punt for the first time after two successful drives. The decision to punt was a little easier after seeing your defense get back-to-back stops. Thomas Morstead pinned New York inside the 10-yard line.
The offense got the ball back, and Skyy Moore returned a punt to put San Francisco in New York Territory. But Spencer Burford picked a bad time to give up his first sack, which effectively ended the drive. But after picking up enough yards to decide whether to go for it on 4th & 5 or not, Eddy Pineiro’s 54-yard field goal gave the Niners a 17-7 lead.
The defense forced a three-and-out, giving the offense 38 seconds before the first half. However, Brian Burns beat Colton McKivitz fast enough that Jones couldn’t throw the ball in time. The result was a turnover, and New York was gifted prime field position.
But the defense stood tall, and the Giants missed a chip-shot field goal. It was quite the turn of events that would have swung the momentum toward New York. Instead, the 49ers would receive the ball to begin the third quarter with a 10-point lead.
On 2nd & 14, Skyy Moore’s third catch as a 49er picked up 21 yards on 2nd & 14. Moore, in for Jordan Watkins, made you wonder what happened to the rookie, who had been mostly absent since his catch on the first drive. A 3rd & 13 fade to Jennings...
