SF 49ers: Defensive grade against NY Giants Daniel Jones

How did the SF 49ers do against the NY Giants and their quarterback, Daniel Jones?

Week 3 of the NFL season saw the SF 49ers return to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey for the second week in a row, this time to take on the NY Giants.

Depleted by injuries the SF 49ers saw backup quarterback Nick Mullens get the start in place of Jimmy Garoppolo who is currently nursing a high-ankle sprain.

The defensive line also had a new look to it with defensive end Nick Bosa and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas both suffering torn ACLs in last week’s game against the NY Jets.

Defensive ends Ziggy Ansah and Dion Jordan were active for the game. Ansah being signed earlier in the week as a free agent and Jordan being activated from the practice squad.

Both players provided depth on the defensive line for the 49ers and Jordan recorded his first sack of the season.

The 49ers came away with a 36-9 victory, but how did the San Francisco defense as a whole play against the Giants and specifically their quarterback, Daniel Jones?

Let’s take a look at how they graded against him.

SF 49ers against the run

Although Jones is not as fast and elusive as someone like Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray whom the Niners faced in Week 1, he is still a threat on the ground.

In 2019, Jones average 21.5 yards rushing per game. Against the SF 49ers on Sunday, Jones rushed five times for 49 yards.

Although he was over his average-per-game rushing yardage from the previous season, those yards were not as devastating to the 49ers defense. He did pick up some first downs on big runs, but ultimately none of those drives were converted into touchdowns.

So even though Jones was allowed to be the leading rusher for the Giants, the 49ers defense did a decent enough job against him on the ground. For their defensive performance against Jones on the ground, the 49ers defense earns a grade of B-plus.

SF 49ers against the pass

Seeing that the 49ers were ahead of the Giants for most of the game, passing would be a big part of the Giants offense.

Jones was 17-of-32, throwing for 179 yards with no touchdowns and one interception against San Francisco. In 2019, he averaged 232.8 yards passing per game. The 49ers held him well below that number. Anytime a defense can hold an opposing quarterback under 200 yards, that usually translates into success.

Another key stat for the 49ers was that they held Jones to 5.6 yards per attempt, below his 2019 average 6.6 yards per attempt.

Of course, a key part of the SF 49ers’ defensive performance against the pass was that they ceded zero touchdowns, even in garbage time with many of their backups in.

Having considered all of those factors, the 49ers get a grade of A-plus against Jones and his passing attack (or lack thereof).

SF 49ers’ overall performance

For their overall performance against Jones, the 49ers receive an A-grade. They limited him in the passing game holding him under his typical per-game averages.

And although he had some big runs, they weren’t nearly as deflating as the ones that Murray had in Week 1 against them. The key was those runs led to absolutely zero touchdown drives.

Next up, the 49ers travel back home to the Bay Area to take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football in Levi’s Stadium. The defense has a great chance to shine again as they will be going up against the Eagles’ struggling quarterback, Carson Wentz, who has yet to lead his team to victory this season.