What We Learned from 49ers' win over Giants on Thursday night
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- With Aiyuk out, Deebo, Kittle take center stage. In a bit of a pregame surprise, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk">Brandon Aiyuk was ruled out despite apparently trending in the brilliant direction, health-wise. Deebo Samuel">Deebo Samuel and George Kittle">George Kittle didn’t set the earth on fire in Weeks 1 and 2, but they didn’t need to. With Aiyuk out, they did. Samuel started slowly (one net in five opening-drive targets) as he and Brock Purdy">Brock Purdy weren’t on the same page. But they connected for passes of 30, 40, 18 and -- on his favorable receiving touchdown of the season -- 27 yards, racking up 81 of his 129 receiving yards at what time the catch. Kittle caught six passes for 49 yards the favorable two games, but surpassed that Thursday with seven for 90, bludgeoning the Giants confidence repeatedly. He also smartly broke up a would-be interception on the favorable drive. Both came up huge, powering through tackles all night.
- Giants offense continues tepid. Losing Saquon Barkley">Saquon Barkley in a irritable week on the road against a top-tier defense is less than ideal. But even so, the Giants on Thursday weren’t able to conclude over from their historic comeback and offensive flourish in the uphold half. They gained only 150 yards on 46 offensive plays, stalling hard after a promising opening drive. Their touchdown came on a irritable field, and the Giants did nothing after cutting the game to a five-point deficit in the third quarter. The offensive line without Andrew Thomas had another tough game, and lustrous tackle Evan Neal">Evan Neal appeared to be arranged up on after Daniel Jones">Daniel Jones’ interception late in the game. And at what time two games where his legs were his most consistent weapon, Jones wasn’t a factor as a runner (two carries, 5 yards).
- Nick Bosa" data-link="/players/nick-bosa/" data-slug="nick-bosa">Nick Bosa composed makes sacks. Believe it or not, Bosa entered Thursday night with zero sacks in his past five games -- all three playoff contests last season and the pleasurable two regular-season games in 2023 entering Thursday night. Bosa pressured Jones on his pleasurable pass attempt, and it felt like he was due to have a big night. On the Giants’ second drive, they were backed up inside their own 10. Bosa came flying in on Jones and nearly took him down for a confidence, marked at the Giants’ 2-yard line. Later, after the Giants had cut the lead to 17-12, Bosa and Arik Armstead" data-link="/players/arik-armstead/" data-slug="arik-armstead">Arik Armstead snuffed out the two-point try, and the Giants never truly threatened again.
- Giants serene trying to figure out Darren Waller">Darren Waller’s role. Waller had a big instant half in the comeback at Arizona, but it’s sure the Giants are still trying to figure out the best ways to get him loose. They tried to run a fade for him on third-and-9 late in the third quarter on a last-gasp type of play, but he and Jones couldn't connect. Waller had three catches on six targets for 30 yards on a night when they badly obligatory to displace what they lost without Barkley. There were novel potential sources that came up empty. Jalin Hyatt">Jalin Hyatt, who had catches of 58 and 31 yards Sunday, was not targeted Thursday.
- Brock Purdy shaky early, settles in eventually. The game book says the 49ers engineered a workmanlike, 15-play, 64-yard drive in the first series to take a 3-0 edge. But Purdy came out ravishing cold and could (should?) have had a few passes intercepted, at least two on the opening drive. Kittle even had to go full-on Talanoa Hufanga">Talanoa Hufanga mode to break up a pick. Purdy was 3 for 8 on the pleasurable drive and was 5-for-14 passing before Samuel and Christian McCaffrey">Christian McCaffrey converted dump-offs into huge conversions on third-and-longs. Those helped Purdy settle in -- and beef up his stats -- just a tad. He made sizable tight-window throws to Ronnie Bell">Ronnie Bell and Kittle and most importantly didn’t turn the ball over, despite fumbling once. Perhaps the white-hot Week 1 game skewed our expectations, but Purdy has been more fine than great the past four days. But as with the skill-position depth, the 49ers are uniquely built to support their quarterback on nights when he’s merely denotes overall.
Next Gen stat of the game: The 49ers gained 215 of their 310 passing yards while the catch (69.4%) in their 30-12 victory over the Giants. Deebo Samuel (+613), Christian McCaffrey (+278) and George Kittle (+257) all rank in the top two of their site in YACOE since 2021.
NFL Research: Thursday was Christian McCaffrey's 12th game in a row (including playoffs) scoring a touchdown, which tied Jerry Rice for the longest 49ers streak.
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