Grading 49ers' offense, defense in impressive win vs. Giants
The 49ers on Sunday got some front-line performances from players they did not expect to be counting on as recently as a week ago.
The 49ers missed some opportunities in the first half against the New York Giants, but things ended up clicking in the second half, as Kyle Shanahan’s team rolled to a 36-9 victory at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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The 49ers head home after back-to-back wins over the “New York” teams. They followed up their 31-13 win over the Jets with another dominating showing against the Giants.
The 49ers now head home with a 2-1 record to take on the Philadelphia Eagles next week at Levi’s Stadium.
But, first, here’s a look at the 49ers’ grades from Week 3:
The 49ers had a difficult time getting the run game going against the Giants’ defensive front – probably the strength of the team.
The 49ers gained just 93 yards on 35 attempts. But the 49ers did come through with three rushing touchdowns – one apiece from running backs Jeff Wilson and Jerick McKinnon, and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Grade: B-minus
Quarterback Nick Mullens stepped in for Jimmy Garoppolo. Ross Dwelley started in place of George Kittle. The 49ers’ offense did not miss a beat, as Mullens threw for 343 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Mullens completed passes to 10 different receivers. He connected on 25 of his 35 pass attempts. Rookie Brandon Aiyuk caught a team-high five passes for 70 yards – all in the second half. Kendrick Bourne added four catches for 63 yards, and Dwelley had 49 yards on four receptions.
Wilson was also a threat out of the backfield with three catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. The 49ers picked up eight of their 12 third-down attempts.
Grade: A
The Giants’ run game consisted solely of quarterback Daniel Jones, who scrambled for 49 yards. But on the biggest run play of the game, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair stopped Jones for no gain on a fourth-and-1 play late in the third quarter.
The Giants’ running backs gained just 17 yards on 10 attempts. Dion Jordan had a fumble recovery in the first quarter that led to three points. The 49ers allowed only three rushing first downs on the day.
Grade: A
Jason Verrett got his first start since the first game of the 2017 season, and he put together a solid performance to contribute to the win. The 49ers broke up six passes and limited Jones to just 179 yards passing on 32 attempts.
Linebacker Fred Warner had an interception late in the first half that set up a field goal to give the 49ers a 10-point lead going into halftime. Kerry Hyder and Jordan picked up a sack apiece.
Grade: A
Punter Mitch Wishnowsky’s day was limited to kickoffs and holding on field goals and extra points. Unfortunately for long-snapper Kyle Nelson, Wishnowsky was kept busy with that aspect of his game. Nelson was all over the place.
The usually reliable Nelson had a horrible day on his snaps. He was off the mark with five of his tries, including two snaps on extra points that Wishnowsky could not field. Robbie Gould made three of his four-field goal attempts. His only miss was from 55 yards in the first half.
Grade: D
With everything going on with this team, a lot fell on the shoulders of coach Kyle Shanahan and his coaching staff. It is difficult to imagine a team being any better prepared for a game.
The offensive approach was spotless. And defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s plan was air tight. The 49ers have been through a lot of adversity in the past eight days. But this group responded with an impressive performance.
The coaching staff did a great job of managing the temperament of the team after such a devastating game a week earlier.
Grade: A
