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Week 7 Game Recap: San Francisco 49ers 17, New York Giants 29
What you need to know
| San Francisco 49ers |
Starting QB J.T. O'Sullivan had a Jekyll and Hyde performance. He did a lot of things well, but when he was bad, he was very, very bad. He was sacked six times, had four fumbles (only one lost), and two interceptions (both of which were clearly his fault).
Frank Gore was unable to run against a stout Giants defense. He did contribute as a receiver, however, and looked exceptional hitting the seam and making the quick catch-and-run grab.
The Giants coverage was so good that the receivers were almost always tightly covered. Isaac Bruce was limited to only three catches, while Josh Morgan stepped up his game and quietly had the breakout that everyone was expecting earlier in the season.
| New York Giants |
Eli Manning was capable when called upon to move the ball, but he didn't often have to move it very far, as the defense gave him excellent field position again and again. And then, the Giants relied heavily on the running game.
Brandon Jacobs had two touchdowns on the day, one in short yardage and one of 26 yards. Derick Ward spelled him occasionally, while Ahmad Bradshaw saw nearly all of his carries in garbage time.
Plaxico Burress doesn't have much to show for his effort (3-24-1) but his catches were all noteworthy, including the longest one, which he caught literally with only his fingertips -- that didn't count due to a rare offensive pass interference penalty. Amani Toomer was Manning's second target, but Steve Smith was actually more consistent, with less opportunity.
What you ought to know
| QB J.T. OSullivan, Pass: 16 - 28 - 256 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 4 - 27 - 0 |
O'Sullivan may very well have lost his starting job with this performance. His errors really cost the team a chance at winning the game, but the way the Giants defense was playing, it's hard to say if anyone else could have done much better. His two interceptions were awful; at least two of his four fumbles were easily avoidable (though one was actually a botched handoff that Gore wasn't able to hold onto). On the good side, he was at his best when taking short drops and hitting his receivers in stride. It seemed that if he waited too long, he had no one to throw to, which meant a sack, an INT, or a scramble. On that note, he was the Niners leading rusher on the day.
| RB Frank Gore, Rush: 11 - 11 - 0, Rec: 3 - 50 - 0 (5 targets) |
Gore was simply unable to get anything done on the ground. He showed himself to be an able pass catcher, however, with his three catches all going for first downs.
| RB Michael Robinson, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (2 targets) |
Robinson caught both of his targets, as he spelled Gore occasionally on third downs. He had no carries.
| WR Josh Morgan, Rec: 5 - 86 - 1 (10 targets) |
Morgan finally lived up to the pre-season hype, leading the 49ers in targets and scoring their lone offensive touchdown. He would have gone over 100 yards, too (not to mention given his team a chance to win) had he held on to an absolutely perfectly thrown deep sideline pass that fell right into -- and out of -- his arms. Ah, growing pains.
| WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 3 - 47 - 0 (4 targets) |
Bruce was heavily covered all day and O'Sullivan did not even target him once in the second half. On the balls thrown to him, he looked his reliable self. On one play, Bruce was wide open but missed out on a big gain when O'Sullivan overthrew him badly.
| WR Arnaz Battle, Rec: 2 - 42 - 0 (5 targets) |
Battle seemed to take over Isaac Bruce's targets in the second half, though there was no word of an injury or anything to Bruce. Battle pulled in a couple of 20 yard receptions for first downs as the Niners were attempting to come back late in the game.
| TE Vernon Davis, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Well, he did catch 100 percent of his targets. Evidently, Davis was needed more to protect the quarterback than to be used as a receiver.
| PK Joe Nedney 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Nedney was good on his 40 yard field goal, and two extra points.
| SF Rush Defense |
The defense let Jacobs loose for one long run and to the combined Giants backfield a handful of ten plus yard carries, but also held the Giants to short gains often.
| SF Pass Defense |
They really made Manning and Burress work for their yardage, and even then did not give up much. An impressive outing that kept the 49ers in the game for perhaps longer than they deserved to be.
| QB Eli Manning, Pass: 16 - 31 - 161 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - -4 - 0 |
Manning had a very average day. He had no sacks, no interceptions, and no fumbles, along with a touchdown. The defense kept on giving him the ball with excellent field position -- twice in the red zone -- at which point the offense was heavily run oriented. He had some trouble with the 49ers secondary, but made a few plays happen when the pressure was on.
| RB Brandon Jacobs, Rush: 17 - 69 - 2, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jacobs was the primary ball carrier, and was given the ball in the red zone often. He was rested in the fourth quarter, as the Giants were playing with a lead the whole game.
| RB Ahmad Bradshaw, Rush: 8 - 28 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 |
Bradshaw looked quite impressive moving the ball in the fourth quarter. He was put in to hold on to the ball and run down the clock. Though yardage was hard to come by against a stacked line, he was explosive in hitting the hole, which did result in one gain of 18 yards.
| RB Derrick Ward, Rush: 4 - 19 - 0, Rec: 3 - 50 - 0 (3 targets) |
Ward was shifty running for two ten plus yard gains, but was stopped for negative yardage on his other three carries. Of the three running backs, he was used the most as a receiving threat.
| WR Steve Smith, Rec: 4 - 39 - 0 (4 targets) |
Smith was looked to a little more as the game wore on, and came down with a couple of important first down grabs.
| WR Plaxico Burress, Rec: 3 - 24 - 1 (9 targets) |
Burress was a highlight reel waiting to happen. He was covered so tightly the whole game that each and every catch was hard earned. He also had a long catch negated by a very questionable offensive pass interference call. Despite the heavy coverage, Manning still made him his favorite target.
| WR Amani Toomer, Rec: 3 - 31 - 0 (8 targets) |
Toomer was not able to do much in this game. Manning continued to look his way, but the two could not connect for any significant yardage.
| WR Domenik Hixon, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
Hixon was the fourth receiver on the depth chart and was used rarely since the Giants had the lead the whole time. His catch came late in the game.
| TE Kevin Boss (1 targets) |
Boss was not a big part of the passing game.
| PK John Carney 2 - 3 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points |
Carney made a 21 and a 48 yard field goal, and also had one blocked and returned for a touchdown.
| NYG Rush Defense |
The Giants defense was superb all around. They shut down then 49ers ground game completely.
| NYG Pass Defense |
They absolutely confounded J.T. O'Sullivan with a combination of excellent coverage in the secondary and a wicked pass rush on every passing play. The result was a well earned six sacks and two interceptions.
