The New York Giants fell yet again on national television on Thursday night, this time to the San Francisco 49ers, 30-12, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Here are three quick things we learned from the Week 3 loss.
The defense is still bad against the run
The Giants came into the season with high hopes about their defense, especially against the run. Last year, they were 30th in the NFL in defending the run, allowing 146.3 yards per game.
That appears to have continued into this season.
For the third consecutive week, the Giants allowed the opponent to rush the ball on them. The 49ers ran for 141 yards on Thursday night. In Week 1, Dallas had 122 yards on the ground and last Sunday, Arizona racked up 151 yards.
Granted, the Giants faced the NFL’s leading rusher in Christian McCaffrey on Thursday night, but they did nothing to slow him down.
They don't trust the offensive line
The Giants had only 150 yards of offense in the game. That is their lowest output in 10 years (Sept. 22, 2013, they gained 150 yards in a 38-0 loss at Carolina).
Much of that was by design. With running back Saquon Barkley out, the Giants ran the ball just 11 times in the game, which was a one-score contest until the early fourth quarter. Their 29 rushing yards is their lowest figure since the 2020 season opener against Pittsburgh.
They also did not expose Daniel Jones to the 49ers’ pass rush. He rushed the football out on nearly every pass play, taking two step drops and practically trying no shots downfield in the game (rookie wideout Jalin Hyatt was not targeted). Their longest gain through the air was an 18-yard catch and run by running back Gary Brightwell.
All of this was likely because the Giants were missing their two starters on Jones’ blindside, left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring) and left guard Ben Bredeson (concussion).
That led to the conservative play calling through the air and on the ground. Jones rushed just twice in the game. The only way they were going to win this game was with big plays and running the ball effectively. The makeshift offensive line prevented that.
They simply aren't prepared to compete
The Giants were outplayed in every facet of the game. They were bested in all major statistical categories: total yards (441-150), rushing yards (141-29), passing yards (300-121), first downs (26-10), third-down conversions and time of possession (39:10-20:50).
The Niners appeared to be faster and more aggressive than the disorganized and confused Giants. The Giants are still trying to find some cohesion in many of their units after another roster upheaval this past offseason.
The Giants did not have a full practice this week, just walkthroughs. It looked like they forgot that contact is a part of the game.
The defense, especially, has been a mess. If they don’t clean this up, there’s no point in continuing.
When you have a 27th ranked D (last season) that now takes numerous penalties, can't get off field on 3rd down and is not good in red and gives up big plays. What you have is a bad defense. Oh, can't tackle too.#NYGiants
— The Giant Insider Podcast and Newspaper (@GiantInsider) September 22, 2023
