Giants vs. 49ers: Full San Francisco grades and analysis from Week 10
By Peter Panacy
Defensive Grades
Remember that stat about third downs for the 49ers? Well, it’s been a problem on both sides of the ball all season.
Not so much in Week 10, and the Niners managed to hold New York’s offense to a mere 5-of-14 mark on third downs. Better yet, the Giants’ Orleans Darkwa — whom Niner Noise considered a top threat — was largely held in check, ripping off just 70 yards on 14 carries. That’s a decent average, but certainly nothing game-changing.
Defensive Line
It’s nice to see second-year defensive tackle Ronald Blair back and making an impact, like this forced fumble from Giants quarterback Eli Manning in the second quarter:
FUMBLE! @superblair gets to the QB, @E_Reid35 scoops it up. #NYGvsSF pic.twitter.com/XEbtISTjwU
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 12, 2017
Blair finished with that sack fumble, along with four tackles and two sacks. It’s certainly good to have him back off injured reserve.
Another point of note, defensive lineman Leger Douzable has been quite usable — see what we did there? — ever since joining San Francisco’s defense this season. He finished with six tackles on the game.
Grade: B
Linebacker
Rookie linebacker Reuben Foster makes a huge difference on the field. Not surprisingly, Foster had a team-leading 10 tackles during the game and showcased his sideline-to-sideline abilities at the second level within San Francisco’s defense.
Foster is one of the main reasons why the Giants weren’t able to put their offense in the hands of Darkwa, as the rookie linebacker was able to shut down the promising tailback beyond the line of scrimmage.
It’s just too bad we don’t get much else from linebackers Brock Coyle or Eli Harold.
Grade: B
Secondary
The Giants figured to test San Francisco’s young secondary during this contest. And rookie defensive backs Adrian Colbert and Ahkello Witherspoon flashed a nice pass breakup in front of the end zone on New York’s first offensive drive. Colbert had some range on the play too.
No. 2 cornerback Dontae Johnson was victimized a bit, and the Niners are likely going to be upgrading that position between now and 2018. But at least the 49ers defense gave up only one play greater than 25 yards.
This was to Giants wide receiver Sterling Shephard, but it’s not that big a surprise to see him haul in 142 net yards through the air.
San Francisco’s defensive backs still need upgrades, but this position did its job enough.
Grade: B-