San Francisco 49ers wide receiver jumps up for a touchdown reception against New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks at Levi’s Stadium on Thursday SEP 21, 2023. (San Francisco 49ers)
by Marko Ukalovic @MarkoUkalovic
It’s a simple formula for success. Great defense plus a balanced offensive attack.
It was business as usual for the San Francisco 49ers as they dominated the New York Giants in a 30-12 victory on Thursday Night Football at Levi’s Stadium.
San Francisco has won three games in a row start a season since they opened up the 2019 season with seven straight wins. New York has lost two of its first three game to open up their 2023 campaign.
Both teams traded field goals in the first quarter as the 49ers went on a long methodical 15 play 64-yard drive that ended with a Jake Moody 28-yard field goal. New York went 12 plays for 49 yards on its opening drive to even the score with Graham Gano’s 44-yarder.
San Francisco (3-0) regained the lead midway through the second quarter when quarterback Brock Purdy connected with Ronnie Bell on a nine-yard touchdown reception along the left sideline. It was the first NFL reception for Bell, the rookie seventh round draft pick out of Michigan, who did a nice tight rope job to haul in his first career touchdown.
Defensive end Nick Bosa looked like a well-oiled machine as he made life miserable for New York quarterback Daniel Jones the entire game. Bosa finished with one sack and hit Jones four times as he took advantage of banged up Giants offensive line.
49ers running back Christian McCaffery gave his team a two-touchdown lead near the end of the first half when he scampered in for a four-yard rushing touchdown that completed a 11 play 73-yard drive that chewed up over four and a half minutes off the clock.
“That’s the goal, we’re really happy to be 3-0 right now. It’s really cool to do it after a Thursday night game. I told the guys if they want to have a weekend off, we gotta earn it. They did and now they can relax and enjoy it a bit,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said.
McCaffery led all rushers with 85 yards on 18 carries. He finished with 118 all-purpose yards as he also had five catches for 34 yards.
New York (1-2) kept it close early in the third quarter when former 49ers running back Matt Breida ran for an eight-yard touchdown on the Giants second possession of the second half. The drive was kept alive by a 22-yard passing interference penalty against Deommodre Lenoir on tight end Darren Waller. The Giants failed on the two-point conversion when Jones was sacked on the play.
That was as close as it would get for New York, as San Francisco’s defense did its second half shutdown as they forced three more punts and Talanoa Hufanga intercepted Jones with 3:48 remaining in the game to seal the deal for the 49ers.
Deebo Samuel had his breakout game with six catches for 129 yards that included a 27-yard touchdown reception that put the game away with 5:58 left in the fourth quarter. Samuel’s highlight of the night was a 40-yard reception where he broke tackles along the way before finally being tackled by Michah McFadden at the Giants 35-yard line.
“It was kind of a double move cause they (Giants secondary) were playing a bit inside on me today,” said Samuel regarding his touchdown catch. “Luckily we got that call at the end. Brock (Purdy) made an awesome job of putting that ball where only I could get it.”
Purdy, who had his best game of the young season, finished 25 of 37 for 310 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Tight end George Kittle chipped in with seven catches for 90 yards. Elijah Mitchell had 42 yards on 11 carries.
Jones went 22 of 32 for 137 yards with no touchdowns and one interception while being sacked twice. Darius Slayton led the Giants in receiving with three catches for 32 yards.
GAME NOTES: San Francisco finished 9-for-16 on third down conversions. New York went 3-for-12.
The 49ers were without wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk who didn’t play due to a shoulder injury he suffered this past Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
The 49ers have won 13 straight games with one turnover or less.
McCaffery has scored a touchdown in 13 straight games.
UP NEXT: San Francisco continues its homestand when they host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday 10/1 at 1:25pm at Levi’s Stadium.
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