For the second time in three games, the Giants are in the national spotlight.
They’ll get a chance to prove their second-half comeback against the Cardinals — when they scored 31 points after a scoreless first half — wasn’t a fluke with their “Thursday Night Football” matchup against the 49ers.
But Wink Martindale might have to unveil the perfect script defensively to contain 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, quarterback — and no longer Mr. Irrelevant — Brock Purdy, running back Christian McCaffrey, wideout Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle. Purdy still hasn’t lost a regular-season game since taking over as San Francisco’s starting signal-caller late in 2022.
Will the Giants find a way to snag an improbable victory and move to 2-1? Or will they continue to lose ground in a competitive NFC East, with the Eagles, Cowboys and Commanders all undefeated entering Week 3?
Follow along with The Post’s live updates and analysis.
Not much of anything, really. Daniel Jones (22-33, 137 yards, 1 INT) left the dynamism in Glendale, Ariz.
He got nothing done with his legs (two carries for 5 yards) and a late-game interception deflected off the hands of TE Darren Waller, who had a high pass slip through his hands late in the second quarter.
WR Parris Campbell slipped and failed to get out of bounds, forcing the Giants to burn their last time out in the first half. No Saquon Barkley, no rushing attack (29 yards) whatsoever.
Wink Martindale clearly wanted to blitz against Brock Purdy.
The Giants blitzed the 49ers quarterback on 33 of his 39 dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats, and that resulted in Purdy releasing the ball at an average of 2.34 seconds.
Martindale’s blitz rate was the highest in the Next Gen Stats era, according to its social media account.
The Giants blitzed Brock Prudy on 33 of his 39 dropbacks (84.6%), the highest blitz rate in a game in the NGS era.
Likewise, Purdy averaged the fastest time to throw of his career (2.34 seconds).
Trent Williams got away with a punch — and a possible ejection — before halftime Thursday night against the Giants, as the 49ers’ offensive lineman swung at defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson with seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Williams and Robinson were both penalized for unnecessary roughness, but the punch wasn’t mentioned in the calls from officials, and Williams called it a “love tap” that “wasn’t that hard” when asked about it after the game.
Everything appeared to start with Robinson giving another offensive lineman an extra shove after San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy opted to kneel for the final play of the half with the 49ers in the lead.
Daniel Jones, who completed 22-of-37 passes for 137 yards and an interception, said the Giants "didn't create a rhythm" against the 49ers.
When they scored a field goal on the opening drive, it marked six consecutive possessions — dating back to Sunday's win in Arizona — that ended with points for the Giants. But they managed just nine points across their nine drives that followed the rest of the game.
"We didn't create a rhythm, we didn't execute, we didn't take advantage of our opportunities"
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Wan’Dale Robinson, the Giants’ speedy second-year wide receiver, made his season debut Thursday night in their 30-12 loss to the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
Robinson had not played since Nov. 20, when he tore his ACL in only his sixth game for the Giants in his rookie year.
A 2022 second-round draft pick, he was having his best game when he went down, with nine catches for 100 yards and his only touchdown of the season.
Wan'Dale Robinson is tackled by Tashaun Gipson Sr. during the third quarter in the Giants' 30-12 loss at Levi's Stadium. Getty Images
He finished his rookie year with 23 receptions for 227 yards.
It did not take long for Robinson to get into the action on Thursday night.
Well, after three weeks, the Giants certainly know this:
They know what it looks like to be a genuine Super Bowl contender, a member of the NFL elite. They’ve gotten a good, up-close look at two of the teams that seem almost certain to have a say in who’s going to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, and they have two dates with the third looming once winter arrives.
The Giants already know about the Cowboys. Eleven days later, they finally seem to have rid themselves of the tire tracks up and down their uniforms that Dallas left behind in that 40-0 annihilation that kicked off the season. The Cowboys backed that up by steamrolling the Jets, too, a week later (though they suffered a brutal setback when star cornerback Trevon Diggs suffered an ACL tear in practice this week).
Daniel Jones looks on dejectedly during the fourth quarter of the Giants' 30-12 loss to the 49ers. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Now the Giants know all about the 49ers, too. The Niners didn’t roll an army of SUVs over them the way the Cowboys did in the opener, but there was little question about how good they are, and can be, following a deliberate and systematic dismantling of the Giants Thursday night at Levi’s Stadium. The final score was 30-12 and the pathway to get there was a bit more competitive than the massacre two weeks ago.
Brock Purdy. The 49ers quarterback wasn’t prolific, but he was proficient. He made all the right reads, keeping his team in good position all night en route to completing 25 of 37 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns. He’s now 8-0 as an NFL starter in regular-season play.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll said that Saquon Barkley has been "considerably better" and "walking around," even though he wasn't able to play in the Giants' Week 3 loss.
Barkley sustained the injury against the Cardinals late in Week 2, and he described it to Amazon Prime's Taylor Rooks as a high-ankle sprain.
Brian Daboll says that Saquon Barkley is "walking around" as he recovers from his ankle sprain pic.twitter.com/YhqbC4TrIr
SANTA CLARA. Calif. — The Giants were not close to good enough Thursday night to knock off one of the NFL’s elite teams.
They were not blown out early, which is an improvement from their Week 1 no-show against the Cowboys.
They were, however, outclassed for long stretches of their 30-12 loss to the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium and it is clear there is much work to be done for the Giants to rise up to the level they need to get to.
Daniel Jones maintains control of the ball after getting sacked in the second quarter of the Giants' 30-12 loss to the 49ers. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
All things considered, being at 1-2 after three games is a whole heck of a lot better than it could be, based on the quality of the Giants’ play for long stretches.
If not for finally responding to a late wake-up call last week in Arizona, the Giants would still be searching for their first taste of success.
The Giants fell to the 49ers, 30-12, as the offense struggled again and the defense eventually caved despite holding San Francisco to three field goals. Tyrod Taylor logged some snaps. Sam Darnold did for the 49ers, too.
It dropped the Giants to 1-2, with injuries — to Saquon Barkley, Andrew Thomas, Deonte Banks and others — looming ahead of their “Monday Night Football” game in Week 4 against the Seahawks. They’ll then face the Dolphins (2-0), Bills (1-1) and Commanders (2-0) after that, too. The schedule doesn’t get any easier for a Giants offense that has struggled to find any rhythm despite returning Jones and Barkley while also adding players such as Parris Campbell and Darren Waller.
Christian McCaffrey rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown to lead the 49ers. Deebo Samuel, despite an injury scare, caught six passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. And Brock Purdy — even though he struggled a bit at first — remained undefeated as a starter, throwing for 310 yards and two touchdowns.
Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor entered at the start of the Giants' drive with just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Jones finished 22-of-32 for 137 yards, and he also threw the interception on his final drive.
Daniel Jones threw an interception on third-and-17, and the Giants’ miserable half on offense continued.
He attempted a pass to Darren Waller across the middle, which bounced off the hands of the tight end, off the helmet area of 49ers linebacker Fred Warner and into the hands of Talanoa Hufanga. It's the fourth interception of the season for Jones after he tossed just five across all of 2022.
