The 49ers offense is impossible.
Their performance Thursday night against the Giants was just okay. They were disjointed at times, struggled to slow down a constantly blitzing Giants defense, and had a handful of throws nearly intercepted.
Buy 49ers TicketsThen the dust settled and it turns out the offense that sputtered at various points Thursday racked up 30 points, averaged a strong 5.7 yards per play, punted only three times and never turned the ball over. They posted 441 yards and ran 78 offensive plays.
It was a day that every offense in the league would take if it was given to them.
What became clear Thursday was that it simply doesn’t matter with this iteration of the 49ers offense. Their margin for error is so vast that a hiccup or two that might derail another team isn’t even on San Francisco’s radar.
Third-and-15? No problem. Throw a screen pass to Deebo Samuel.
Third-and-12? No problem. Throw it to Christian McCaffrey in the flat.
The 49ers gained 215 of their 310 passing yards after the catch (69.4%) in their 30-12 victory over the Giants.
Deebo Samuel (+613, 1st), Christian McCaffrey (+278, 1st) & George Kittle (+257, 2nd) all rank in the top 2 of their position in YACOE since 2021.#NYGvsSF #FTTB pic.twitter.com/iOZlcfRfx6
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 22, 2023
The 49ers had 215 yards after the catch. The Giants had 150 yards of offense.
Brock Purdy struggling with accuracy? No problem. He’ll figure it out.
#49ers QB Brock Purdy, on a night where he was clearly off in the first half, still has his first 300-plus yard passing game in the regular season. It's the second 300-plus yard game of his career overall (Seattle in playoffs).
Purdy: 25-of-37 for 310 yards, 2 TDs, 111.3 rating
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) September 22, 2023
This is the nature of what the 49ers have built on offense. They’re a juggernaut and even a game where things look out of sync is still going to fetch outstanding results.
McCaffrey finished with 119 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown. Samuel had 129 receiving yards and a touchdown. George Kittle had seven catches for 90 yards.
Purdy finished with 310 passing yards, two touchdowns and a 111.3 passer rating. He did all that while dealing with a ton of blitzes from the Giants’ defense while they threw anything they could at the QB to try and gum up the offense.
It worked momentarily. There were inaccurate throws in the first half and multiple near interceptions. Luck was certainly a factor in Purdy’s big night, but its role became ultimately small given how thorough the domination on that side of the ball was.
The 49ers offense, as a unit, is perhaps the most dominant in the league through the first three weeks of the season. Slowing them down has been a significant chore for defenses and it doesn’t ultimately bear fruit. The Giants did well early in Thursday night’s game and it just didn’t matter. It was all for naught. They still gave up 400 yards and 30 points.
At some point there’ll come a game where the 49ers don’t hang up 30. Perhaps we can reassess then. But through three weeks it looks like San Francisco is just getting started on offense, and once they hit their stride there may not be many of these “subpar” games left.
