49ers Defeat Giants Thanks to Deebo and Purdy: Lessons Learned

admin

What we learned as 49ers ride Deebo, Purdy to win over Giants originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SANTA CLARA — Thirty, again. Thirty for Purdy.

That’s 30 points for Brock Purdy and the rest of the 49ers’ offense, although things did not always look pretty on Thursday night against the New York Giants.

The 49ers finally pulled away with Purdy’s 27-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel to cruise to a 30-12 victory in their home opener at Levi’s Stadium.

The 49ers have scored 30 points in each of their first three games of the season for the third time in franchise history and the first time since 1992.

Until Purdy’s back-shoulder dagger to Samuel, the 49ers were settling for too much of Jake Moody. The rookie kicker was 3-for-3 on field goals of 28, 21 and 36 yards to make him a perfect 9-for-9 on the season.

Here are three takeaways from the 49ers’ third win to open the season:

Thirty for Purdy’s slow start

Brandon Aiyuk did not suit up for the game due to a shoulder injury, and Purdy initially looked out of sorts without his favorite receiver.

Purdy was misfiring, the offense was sputtering, and the 49ers were close to a second consecutive fruitless possession.

All it took for Purdy was to make a short flip to Samuel on a third-and-15 play to get things going in the second quarter. Samuel turned it into a 30-yard gain for the first of three consecutive third-down conversions.

Purdy capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to rookie Ronnie Bell.

And that was that.

Purdy ended up putting together a more-than solid statistical game. He completed 25 of 37 passes for 310 yards with two touchdown passes, no interceptions and a passer rating of 111.3.

Samuel and George Kittle did most of the work. Purdy was able to dump off short passes to beat the Giants’ blitzes, and those two did the rest.

Samuel caught six passes for 129 yards and a touchdown, while Kittle added seven catches for 90 yards.

Bosa back in sack column

Defensive end Nick Bosa promised it could be a big night for the 49ers’ defensive front.

And Bosa delivered in the first quarter with his first sack of the season.

Bosa led the team in pressures through two games after ending his 44-day holdout to sign a five-year, $170 million contract extension. He got off to a slow start — for him, anyway — after leading the NFL with 18.5 sacks last season.

The 49ers were able to get after Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who was sacked a couple of times and was intercepted by Talanoa Hufanga in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers’ defense put the clamps on the Giants, who failed to gain 100 yards of offense in the first half for the third consecutive game.

In Week 2, the 49ers faced a Rams offense that relied on a quick passing game with Matthew Stafford that made a point of getting the ball out before the pass rush could arrive.

Bosa and Arik Armstead also teamed to drop Jones on a two-point conversion attempt in the third quarter, as the 49ers’ lead remained at 17-12 after Matt Breida’s 8-yard touchdown run.

The McCaffrey Show

The 49ers gave running Christian McCaffrey a breather from time to time Thursday. But he did not give the New York Giants’ defense many breaks.

McCaffrey continued his hot start to the season with another big performance, including a 4-yard touchdown run in the second half that gave the 49ers a 17-3 lead.

It was the 12th consecutive game — regular season and playoffs — in which McCaffrey scored a touchdown. That ties Jerry Rice (1987) for the longest such streak in franchise history.

McCaffrey finished with 85 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. He also added five catches for 34 yards.

Backup running back Elijah Mitchell, who did not play in the Week 2 win at Los Angeles, saw his most extensive playing time of the season. He had 11 rushing attempts for 42 yards.

Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast

Share This Article
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *