Niner Noise lists position grades for the SF 49ers after their blowout 36-9 victory in Week 3 against the New York Giants.
After so many injuries last week, exactly how the SF 49ers were going to respond against the New York Giants in Week 3 was a matter of some debate.
Could they win with a backup quarterback, two running backs out, their best wide receiver and tight end out, their best pass-rushing defender out, one starting linebacker out and the psychological issue of playing on the same field that caused a lot of these injuries?
Well, we got our answer. The Niners didn’t just win, but blew out the Giants in a one-sided 36-9 score from MetLife Stadium.
Granted, the Giants are not exactly among the NFL elite right now, but it cannot be understated how well the 49ers looked as a team even though they weren’t at their best in terms of personnel.
After such a big win, these position grades will, of course, for the most part be very positive.
However, we do have some bad things to get out of the way as well.
Have a day, Nick Mullens.
How does 25-of-36 passing, 343 yards and a touchdown sound to everybody? All without throwing the ball deep as well?
Also not included was a second touchdown pass called back due to a hands-in-the-face penalty that was more because someone didn’t strap their helmet properly, as well as a potential third overthrown by a fraction.
Mullens is not someone who has a rocket arm. His talents lay in his work ethic and considerable mental talents in a position where the mental is just as important as the physical.
So while he wasn’t able to throw the ball deep, he was able to dissect the Giants defense and spread the ball around to a considerable ten different receivers on the day.
Short passes and play action were the order of the day. And after a sluggish start where he was barely completing half his passes, he caught fire and blew out the Giants on a day where the running game wasn’t happening.
If the SF 49ers could combine his mental strength to the considerable physical talents of injured starter Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers would be unstoppable.
The only (minor) criticism was a few passes were errant, with a few tips in particular lucky they flew the right way from being intercepted, but that doesn’t take away what was a player of the game performance by Mullens.
SF 49ers Offensive Skill Players
When it comes to rushing the ball, the SF 49ers clearly miss superstar tight end George Kittle, since the Niners offensive line just can’t push around defenses on its own.
As a result, the team only had 62 yards on 28 carries with most of the rushing yards coming from wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
That being said, both Jerick McKinnon and Jeff Wilson had rushing touchdowns on the day, while Wilson claimed the sole receiving touchdown from the team.
Wilson has three catches for 54 yards plus the score, McKinnon snagged three of his four targets for 39 yards and even debutant JaMycal Hasty chipped in with a pass for 8 yards.
So it wasn’t all bad for the running backs.
This is essentially the Aiyuk and Kendrick Bourne grade after they were the only receivers to have multiple catches on the day, but what a performance both had.
Bourne was his usual dependable self, with four catches for 63 yards as he becomes beacon of consistency for the team.
Trent Taylor and Mohamed Sanu both caught the ball once, albeit both good catches for first down, but the real story is that this was the game where head coach Kyle Shanahan unleashed Aiyuk on the world.
Aiyuk was targeted eight times (a large amount for a receiver in the Shanahan offense) and caught five of them for 70 yards, and he also ran some Deebo Samuel-style sweeps and ran three times for 31 yards and his first-ever touchdown in the pros:
https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1310295562340581376
The team must be salivating at the idea of having Samuel and Aiyuk on the field at once. Both are very similar in skill set and can be used to misdirect the offense.
It was truly fun to watch Shanahan scheme Aiyuk into the game and subsequently into prominence.
Poor Jordan Reed.
He had a great game for the 49ers last week and looked set to pick up where he left off after a couple of catches, but then the suspiciously loose turf of the stadium struck again and he hurt his leg trying to grab a touchdown at the back of the end zone.
Unfortunately, the pass was a fraction long and his foot went out of bounds. How bad he’s hurt remains to be seen.
Ross Dwelley had a good first half with four catches for 49 yards and looked set for a huge day, but Nick Mullens didn’t target him again for the rest of the game.
SF 49ers Offensive, Defensive Lines
The cracks will be covered over a bit by the blowout win, but the team desperately needs George Kittle back because the offensive line did struggle a bit against the lowly Giants.
Two sacks on the day doesn’t explain how badly the team was getting beaten, but the seven tackles for loss might give a clearer idea.
To the credit of the offensive line, they got better as the game got on and there were plays where the blocking was perfect (the Jeff Wilson touchdown reception and Brandon Aiyuk touchdown run being highlights), but there still needs to be improvement for when the SF 49ers play elite pass-rushers.
Similar to the Giants, the two sacks on the day don’t quite accurately tell how well the 49ers defensive line performed on the day.
It was a weak offensive line they were playing, to be sure, but it’s not exactly the defensive line of last season that the 49ers had either.
EDGE Kerry Hyder was the pick for the day with some great plays and a sack, but rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw had some moments of his own, too.
Even Dion Jordan, who was routinely being shoved around by camp bodies in preseason, got himself a sack of his own.
The team should improve when EDGE Dee Ford returns and fellow pass-rusher Ezekiel Ansah is more integrated into the defense.
SF 49ers Linebackers, Defensive Backs
For defensive MVP today, you’d be finding it difficult to go past the SF 49ers’ young defensive leader in Fred Warner.
An absolute weapon during the game, Warner had seven tackles and an interception that truly broke the game open as the subsequent score changed it from a perennial one-possession game into a blowout.
Warner grows by leaps and bounds seemingly every month, he’s the 49ers defensive captain and leader until he retires or cornerback Richard Sherman (calf) gets back on the field.
The linebackers were fine in coverage as far as I could see, with the Giants needing garbage time just to get over 100 yards receiving.
Nobody cares about garbage time.
No. No Emmanuel Moseley (at least soon into the game). No Ahkello Witherspoon.
No worries.
Cornerbacks Jason Verrett and Dontae Johnson (yes, that Dontae Johnson) performed well and helped shut down the Giants passing game until garbage time finally got it into triple figures.
The safeties were all where they had to be, with Jaquiski Tartt fingertips away from snagging an interception off a deflected pass.
There’s not much more you can say, the defensive backs put the clamps on the Giants.
Special credit to backup safety Marcell Harris, who forced two fumbles during the game.
I hate to twist the knife in, I really do.
But, man. Long-snapper Kyle Nelson had one of the worst games you will ever see from a player at his position to the extent he got benched.
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In a blowout.
Punter Mitch Wishnowsky was a non-factor, as the 49ers didn’t punt for the first time since 1993 with every possession either a score or a field goal attempt.
Lucky guy.
Veteran kicker Robbie Gould slotted three of his four attempts, but missed a 55-yard attempt after another Nelson snap went awry and disrupted the kick. Amazingly he still made the distance.
A further kick (an extra point attempt) was aborted after Wishnowsky was dragged down by the facemask, but could have been even worse.
And it could have been even worse behind that, as further bad snaps had to be salvaged. Nelson was inconsolable by the end of the game and you just had to feel for him as backup tackle Justin Skule was assigned his duties.
The 49ers did not return the ball during the game.
There were a few hiccups like the running game not quite functioning and the inability to stop Giants quarterback Daniel Jones scrambling at times. But at the end of the day, the coaching went almost perfectly as the team recorded a 36-9 road win with half of the starters out either before or during the game.
Kyle Shanahan schemed plays for Nick Mullens that resulted in a career game, and Robert Saleh schemed his wounded defense through a game with no touchdowns conceded.
All in all, not a bad day for him.