The 49ers weren’t perfect Thursday night and still managed to throttle the Giants 30-12 at Levi’s Stadium.
San Francisco moved to 3-0 with the victory and posted 30 points for the third time this season.
Buy 49ers TicketsHere are our observations from each quarter of a dominant 49ers win:
First quarter
– Brock Purdy’s first throw was way off target on a slant to Deebo Samuel. That’s the second time in as many games that he’s been way behind the receiver on that throw.
– Next play he hit the exact same throw for 14 yards and a first down. Good adjustment from the QB.
– Near interception from Purdy on first-and-10. He was looking for George Kittle and a defender was standing exactly where Purdy wanted the ball to go. Kittle did well to knock it away.
– Elijah Mitchell made an appearance on the first drive. Purdy was sacked on the play. It was the Giants’ first sack of the year.
– Third-and-8 Purdy threw it behind Jauan Jennings, but Jennings made a nice spinning grab in the middle of the field for 22 yards.
– Looked like a miscommunication by the 49ers offensive line on a second-and-short that led to Christian McCaffrey being tackled for a loss. Nobody blocked Giants DL Leonard Williams.
– Purdy really struggled to open this one. He was off target on the first drive and nearly threw another interception on third-and-10 in the red zone with a Giants blitz bearing down on him. San Francisco had to settle for a short Jake Moody field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
– Good start for the 49ers defense. CB Deommodore Lenoir had tight coverage on a shot play down the right sideline and forced an incompletion.
– The Giants threw multiple players at Nick Bosa on every snap early on.
– Good pressure applied by DL Javon Kinlaw on a second down, but Giants QB Daniel Jones scrambled and found a receiver for 18 yards and a first down.
– Tremendous third-down work from CB Isaiah Oliver. He flew up on a short throw on third-and-six to hold the Giants to one yard and forced a field goal. The kick tied the game at 3-3.
– Mitchell started the 49ers second series and took a carry for two yards on the first play. He also stayed in for the second snap.
– Terrific blitz pickup by Mitchell on second-and-8 allowed Purdy to unload a dot to George Kittle for 15 yards. That was a sweet layered throw over a linebacker.
– Nice special teams tackle by Ronnie Bell on a good punt from Mitch Wishnowsky that downed the Giants at their own 10.
– Nick Bosa’s first sack came on a play action bootleg that didn’t fool the DE. He whacked Jones for a loss of nine. That was the easiest sack he’ll ever have.
End of first quarter score: 49ers 3, Giants 3
Second quarter
– Purdy’s first throw of the second quarter got knocked down at the line of scrimmage. He’s been really bad.
– Third-and-15 the 49ers went with a screen to Deebo Samuel that went for 30 yards. That’s the “break in case of emergency” play and it worked.
– Christian McCaffrey: good at football, FYI.
– Third-and-13, another screen. This time to McCaffrey and it worked again for a 17-yard gain. This offense didn’t operate well on its first few drives and it still moved.
– The 49ers have used a ton of multi-tight end sets.
– There’s a touchdown. Brock Purdy hit Ronnie Bell in the front corner of the end zone from nine yards out. That’s Bell’s first TD as a pro and it makes it a 10-3 game. Purdy showed a lot of faith in the rookie to win a 50-50 ball and Bell came down with it. Nice work from the QB after really struggling to open the game.
– Javon Hargrave is hard to block. He got home for a sack on a third down where he just blew up the left guard and got to Jones for an easy takedown to force a punt. That’s why San Francisco went and got him.
– There’s been a lot of Mitchell in this game. A clear move by the 49ers to take some of the load off of McCaffrey.
– Sheesh. A Purdy throw was broken up and batted into the air toward the middle of the field. Instead of being intercepted it was grabbed by Bell for a 15-yard gain. That’s unbelievable luck.
– What a drive by the 49ers near the end of the second quarter. They got some help from a roughing the passer call, but they went 73 yards on 10 plays and ate 4:33 off the clock. McCaffrey capped the drive with a TD run to put San Francisco up 17-3 with 1:40 left in the second quarter.
– Darius Slayton won a jump ball over Lenoir. That’s a tough play for Lenoir and the Giants are in 49ers territory.
– The Giants got a 57-yard field goal before the half. That’s a nice win for their offense since they get the ball to start the second half. It’s now 17-6 49ers.
Halftime score: 49ers 17, Giants 6
Third quarter
– The Giants split RB Gary Brightwell out wide and then motioned him on their second play of the second half. Nobody followed him to the flat and he made an easy catch before running untouched for 13 yards.
– Nice tackle for loss by LB Oren Burks on the ensuing first down.
– Jones’ first run of the night goes for four yards on a scramble.
– Good work from the 49ers’ pass rush to flush Jones out left and force a throwaway and a punt.
– A quick three-and-out for the 49ers’ offense. They’ve looked extremely disjointed.
– Goodness. A fair catch interference penalty on the recently-elevated Shemar Jean-Charles puts the Giants at the 49ers’ 37 to begin their second series.
– Lenoir got beat again on a deep shot and had to commit pass interference to put the Giants at the 8. Matt Breida plowed in for a touchdown one play later. What a disastrous start to the half.
– The Giants went for two after the touchdown. Bosa and Arik Armstead combined to drop Jones. It’s now 17-12.
– Deebo Samuel is also good at football. He broke four tackles as part of a 40-yard catch-and-run to put the 49ers in Giants territory on their second series of the half.
– The Giants are sending extra rushers a lot.
– Two defensive penalties have helped extend the 49ers’ drive.
– If it weren’t for individually brilliant plays by Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey the 49ers would be getting shut out. It’s 20-12 after Jake Moody connected on another field.
– Really nice downfield coverage from Isaiah Oliver on a third-and-long. He’s been excellent the last two games.
– More Elijah Mitchell on this series. He’s been really good with 36 yards on seven carries.
– There’s some vintage George Kittle catching a short throw near the sideline then turning upfield and running through tacklers for a 29-yard gain. He’s been mostly quiet this year, but that was a nice run that looked like the Kittle we saw last season.
End of third quarter score: 49ers 20, Giants 12
Fourth quarter
– The right side of the 49ers’ offensive line has been pretty awful.
– Jake Moody is so nails. Another made FG. This time he was good from 36 yards out to put the 49ers up 23-12 with 12:47 to play. A couple of completions went backward for the 49ers on that series and they couldn’t find the end zone despite a defensive holding in the red zone.
– There’s Drake Jackson with a pressure. Clelin Ferrell also drew a facemask penalty. Nice work from the reserve DEs.
– Whew, the 49ers lucked out on a third-and-11 throw from Jones to TE Darren Waller. That might’ve been a big play, but the QB threw it too high and behind his TE.
– Little injury scare for Samuel. It looked like he landed on the football after an 18-yard catch-and-run and laid on the ground for a bit before walking off under his own power. He re-entered a couple plays later.
– Holy cow what a freaking throw from Purdy to Samuel. He went back shoulder to the front pylon from 27 yards out for a touchdown to put the 49ers ahead 30-12. Purdy has been pretty bad all night, but that was a dime reminiscent of the one he threw to Brandon Aiyuk in Week 1.
– Good pass breakup from Charvarius Ward on a quick throw to Slayton. He broke quickly and got a hand in to knock the ball away.
– Bosa has been so close to multiple sacks. He’s had a good game despite only posting one sack.
– And there’s an interception that should seal it. Charvarius Ward got a hand in to break it up, Fred Warner batted it in the air and Talanoa Hufanga came down with it. That’s Hufanga’s second INT of the season.
– Jones has been pulled for Tyrod Taylor. The last three minutes are a formality here and the 49ers will be 3-0.
Final score: 49ers 30, Giants 12
