The New York Giants faced off against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Thursday night.
It was the Giants’ second nationally-televised night game in the first three weeks of the young season. They have two more night games scheduled over the next three weeks.
Buy Giants TicketsThe Giants played the game without star running back Saquon Barkley (ankle), starting left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring), starting left guard Ben Bredeson (concussion) and outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari (hamstring).
Final score: 49ers 30, Giants 12
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | |
| Giants | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| 49ers | 3 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 30 |
Keys to the game
- The Niners won the time of possession, 35:56-17:14.
- The Giants only ran the football 11 times in a game they needed to keep the ball away from San Francisco and control the clock.
- The Giants’ longest completion was for 18 yards to running back Gary Brightwell.
- The battery on my calculator died while trying to tally the amount of missed tackles by the Giants in this game. Granted, the 49ers’ offense is good but the Giants’ sloppy defense made them look 10 times better.
- San Francisco went 8-of-14 on third down and were awarded four first downs on penalties. The Giants were 3-10 on third down in this game.
It was over when...
Niners quarterback Brock Purdy found wide receiver Deebo Samuel for a 27-yard touchdown connection with 6:05 remaining in the fourth quarter to make the score 30-12 and essentially seal the win for San Francisco.
Giants cornerback Adoree’ Jackson was close by but didn’t get his head around. Samuel flummoxed the Giants all night — through the air and on the ground.
Purdy dime to Deebo! 🎯
📺 #NYGvsSF on @NFLonPrime
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/Rrkjh8enGL— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 22, 2023
Players of the game
- Inside linebacker Micah McFadden led the Giants with 10 tackles (nine solo). Four of those tackles were for a loss.
- Kicker Graham Gano was true on both of his field goal tries, one from 44 yards out and another from 57 that cleared the bar by about seven yards.
- Punter Jamie Gillan averaged 52.8 yards per punt on six attempts with a long of 60 and landed one punt inside the 20. Not a good sign when your punter makes this list.
Injuries
Rookie cornerback Deonte Banks left the game in the third quarter with an arm injury and did not return. The Giants slid Adoree’ Jackson into his spot and put Darnay Holmes in the slot.
The Giants lost two defensive linemen on back-to-back plays at the end of the third quarter. First, Rakeem Nunez-Roches limped off the field and then D.J. Davidson left with an arm injury. Nacho returned shortly after.
Right tackle Evan Neal appeared to tweak his right ankle after an interception late in the fourth quarter.
What's next?
Head coach Brian Daboll will hold a Zoom call with the team’s beat writers on Friday afternoon before a few players are also made available.
Big Blue will return to practice on Monday or Tuesday ahead of a Week 4 game against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday, October 2 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Kickoff is 8:15 p.m. ET.
