49ers 36 - Giants 9: Cruise Control
Nick Mullens takes over as the 49ers win and get out of MetLife without any major injuries - with the exception of a few.
(Rutherford, New Jersey) - The 49ers dominated the Giants en route to a blowout. Nick Mullens had a great performance, as he completed 69.4% of his 36 passes for 343 yards, 1 TD, and a 108.9 rating. An incredible performance for a guy who had not started in over a year - and with many injuries on every side of the ball. The 49ers started off slow, but as the game progressed Mullens got better and better, and even showed off some arm strength and deep balls, including 2 great throws to Aiyuk and McKinnon. Mullens’ ability to throw on the run was on full display and he made a number of plays on bootlegs. Daniel Jones was terrible, and thoroughly outplayed.
To give you a sense of how much the 49ers dominated this game - they more than doubled the Giants time of possession and play count. The 49ers weren’t particularly amazing on defense, but some timely stops and turnovers, including an interception of Daniel Jones by Fred Warner - allowed them to keep the Giants under 20 points. The Giants never even made it to the red-zone in the entire game. The 49ers, on the other hand, did not even punt.
On offense, outside of Mullens, the biggest story was Brandon Aiyuk, who had over 100 all-purpose yards. Aiyuk took over in the 3rd and 4th quarter, with multiple catches on multiple drives - and capped his performance out with a 19 yard end-around that he took to the house. Aiyuk is effortless - his hands are soft and he outruns people with ease.
However, while the passing game clicked - the run game did not. The Giants interior DL is very good, and paired with a weakened 49ers IOL, the 49ers struggled to move the ball on 1st down on run plays - they only averaged 3 yards per carry as a whole. Jerick McKinnon led all rushers with 38 yards on 14 carries, including a score - and Jeff Wilson had some fun too, notching a rushing TD, and a receiving TD. Brandon Aiyuk as mentioned also had a rushing TD.
Fred Warner was the defensive MVP - he notched 7 tackles, a PD, and an INT. Kerry Hyder also had a number of pressures, TFLs, and sacks against Daniel Jones.
The bad news: Jordan Reed exited the game with an ankle injury - but it does not seem to be serious. Moseley also exited the game with a concussion.
Kyle Shanahan mentioned in his post-game presser that 4 players were injured - no injuries look serious. Moseley will enter concussion protocol however.
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
9:43 - Robbie Gould MAKES 52 yard field goal. 3-0
1:05 - Robbie Gould MAKES 32 yard field goal. 6-0 - Jordan Reed has exited the game with an ankle sprain. Status is unknown.
2nd Quarter:
13:35 - Graham Gano MAKES 52 yard field goal. 6-3
9:07 - Robbie Gould MISSES 55 yard field goal, wide right. 6-3
7:30 - Graham Gano MAKES 42 yard field goal. 6-6
1:07 - Jerick McKinnon rushes 10 yards for touchdown. 13-6
0:06 - Robbie Gould makes 26 yard field goal. 16-6
3rd Quarter:
8:11 - Graham Gano MAKES 47 yard field goal. 16-9
3:14 - Brandon Aiyuk rushes for 19 yard touchdown. 23-9
4th Quarter:
13:28 - Jeff Wilson 19 yard catch for touchdown. Two point attempt is no good. 29-9
3:35 - Jeff Wilson rushes for 2 yard TD. Extra point is good. 36-9
This article will be updated with post-game info and more.
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Aldon Smith has 3 sacks, 3 TFLs, 5 QB hits, 3 tackles, and a PD and its 15 minutes left in the game.
Great job by the coaching staff this week to get back-ups assimilated into the game plan. And on the FO in the last few seasons building up the depth of the team.
Great game from Aiyuk... it's been a long time since we had a good first round WR! Dwelley played well and Jet showed why he's a receiving threat. Also good to see Wilson back out there.
The game seemed to slow down for Mullens as it went on and he got into a rhythm.