49ers grades vs. Giants feel deceiving (but we'll still take them)

Even though the 49ers ended up beating the Giants 30-12, it never felt like San Francisco fired on all cylinders. Niner Noise hands out grades from the Thursday Night Football bout.

The San Francisco 49ers have opened the 2023 NFL season on a torrid pace, starting with a dominant victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers that showcased how good they can look, and then continuing with a tough victory over the division-rival Los Angeles Rams.

That led the Niners into a Thursday Night Football matchup against the New York Giants, who were humiliated in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys and needed a remarkable comeback to beat the Arizona Cardinals. Missing running back Saquon Barkley and offensive tackle Andrew Thomas, arguably G-Men's two best players, this was a game San Francisco should have comfortably won.

And though the final score reflected that, with a 30-12 victory over New York, the game never seemed to settle as nicely as the 49ers would have wanted it.

The Niners dominated the time of possession and were able to sustain long drives, though they often needed either a dominant display of yards after the catch by one of their superstars or an ill-timed Giants penalty. In the red zone, the 49ers were often stymied by the Giants' aggressive defensive scheme, requiring them to kick a few too many field goals.

Luckily on defense, San Francisco came to play. Granted, the Giants were playing backups on the offensive line, but beyond a single short field that resulted in a touchdown and the first drive of the game, the defense delivered.

Thursday Night Football invites some weird results, mainly with the short rest. But overall, the 49ers took care of business.

Here are the grades from the contest.

49ers Offensive Grades

Despite putting up 30 points and walking away with a nearly 2-to-1 time-of-possession advantage, it never felt like the 49ers offense was able to get truly comfortable against the Giants defense.

49ers Rushing Offense

The Niners finished with 141 yards rushing on 39 attempts, a paltry 3.6 yards per carry that is skewed by a few quarterback sneaks and kneel-downs.

That said, the overall statistics aptly paint San Francisco's rushing attack as inefficient but ultimately effective.

Christian McCaffrey was successful in his 18 carries, rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown, but much like last week, his yards were a mixture of chunk plays and ineffective 2-yard spurts. His overall usage was much lower, though, in part due to the nature of playing on Thursday night and a likely response to Elijah Mitchell's non-usage last week, something head coach Kyle Shanahan directly referenced.

Mitchell finished with 42 yards himself, as he would spell McCaffrey for stretches. It never seemed like Mitchell was completely comfortable in the game, though, but he was able to take limited advantage of his opportunities. More will come as the 49ers season progresses.

Overall, the rushing attack did the job, keeping the time of possession firmly in the Niners' corner and allowing them to put the G-Men on their heels as the game continued.

Grade: B

49ers Passing Offense

Brock Purdy threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns, one on a jump ball to rookie wide receiver Ronnie Bell for his first-ever NFL touchdown, and one absolute dart against zero coverage to Deebo Samuel.

Yet, despite his stat line of 310 yards on 37 attempts and 25 completions, the pass offense felt off.

Much of that came from the Giants' constant pressure. Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale is renowned for his aggressive defensive schemes, and the 49ers offense was forced to act quickly. Yet, that is no excuse.

The 49ers passing offense relied upon Samuel and George Kittle, who combined for 219 yards.

Samuel, in particular, exploded for 129 receiving yards on six receptions, and he gained his yards in the most typical Deebo style, bowling over defensive backs and breaking tackles. Kittle's 90 yards were much of the same.

The 49ers returned to a passing formula that had been present throughout the Brock Purdy era but had never wholly taken center stage. But against New York, the Niners worked through screens and drags to get the ball to their playmakers, and in the face of pressure, Samuel's touchdown was perhaps the only true deep threat they posed.

It worked against the Giants, who were unable to tackle, but how sustainable an offense that requires their superstars to make something out of nothing every play can be remains to be seen.

For Thursday night, though, it was more than enough.

Grade: B

49ers Red-Zone Offense

A special mention to San Francisco's red-zone offense, which reared its ugly head after being dormant for many many months.

It has been a long time since the 49ers struggled to score in the red zone, but against the Giants, they only had a 40-percent touchdown conversion rate (two touchdowns in five trips to the red zone).

Some of those resulted in absolute chip-shot field goals for Jake Moody, but they should have been touchdowns. Despite the Giants bringing blitz after blitz, the Niners offense, with all its talent, should get six points nearly every time they get inside the 20-yard line.

Against New York, execution was lacking.

Grade: D

49ers Defensive Grades

This game became a blowout because San Francisco's defense clamped down on everything and anything the Giants wanted to get done.

This side of the ball stole the show.

49ers Rushing Defense

Facing a Giants offense without Saquon Barkley, the 49ers were expected to take care of business on the ground, and that they did.

Rushing stats against the Niners are often skewed because the offense will race out to a lead, forcing teams to abandon the run and commit to the pass. The Giants were no different, running the ball only 11 times in the entire game, and a couple of those were QB scrambles as well.

But in those situations, San Francisco absolutely dominated.

Former 49er Matt Breida led the Giants with 17 yards rushing and a touchdown, the one blemish on the ground. But he and fellow running back Gary Brightwell finished with 22 yards on eight carries.

That is domination from a defensive front.

Most importantly, and most excitingly to take away, the Niners neutralized quarterback Daniel Jones as a scrambler. As a defense, the 49ers have struggled against mobile QBs who can escape their rush or take advantage of their aggressiveness on zone reads. But Jones never truly had opportunities to break the pocket, and he finished with only 5 yards.

That is an unmistakable positive for this offense.

Grade: A+

49ers Passing Defense

San Francisco forced the G-Men to be nearly perfect to score any points with solid coverage paired with excellent pass rush keeping passes short and in front of a defense ready and willing to wrap up. When the Cover 3 system that the 49ers defense is loosely based around now works at its best, teams do not get opportunities to gash them, and that happened tonight.

The 49ers pass rush finished with only two sacks, but they brought pressure consistently. And when they did not, coordinator Steve Wilks sent blitzes to fluster Jones. Both defensive linemen, Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave, took advantage of a Giants offensive line that was not equipped to handle that level of talent.

On the back end, there were a couple of snafus in coverage, including a costly pass interference by cornerback Deommodore Lenoir that granted the Giants yards en route to their first touchdown. But overall, the pass coverage held up, and then some, even getting an interception to ice the game.

When a quarterback passes the ball 32 times and only gets 137 yards, a pass defense has done its job.

Grade: A-

49ers Special Teams and Coaching Grades

49ers Special Teams

Jake Moody continued to be perfect in the regular season, going 3-of-3 on field goals and 3--of-3 on extra points. His kicks were rather easy this time around, and they never seem perfect heading in, but kickers are based on one thing: results.

And Moody has gotten those.

Punter Mitch Wishnowsky continued his great punting performance with another two punts downed inside the 20-yard line, and the 49ers' kickoff coverage team finally put in a strong performance, with Moody kicking the ball for a touchback six times and the coverage team nicely converging for a stop on the one the Giants returned.

Unfortunately, though, it was not a perfect performance from San Francisco's special teams. On the one Wishnowsky punt that was not inside the 20, Shemar Jean-Charles, a recent addition and elevation from the practice squad, interfered with the Giants returner on a fair catch, costing the 49ers 15 yards and letting the Giants have a short field they cashed for a touchdown.

That was a back-breaker of a penalty, and one the Niners can't let happen in the future.

Grade: B

49ers Coaching

Not much to say about the 49ers coaching today. Kyle Shanahan's game plan was largely conservative and geared around getting yards after the catch, and the Niners weren't particularly aggressive in the red zone or on any fourth downs.

Steve Wilks came into this game recognizing how important stopping Daniel Jones from rushing the ball was, and his scheme took care of business.

Grade: A-

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