Playing on Sunday without starters at a laundry list of positions including: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight-end, line-backer, cornerback and three defensive-linemen all due to injury, San Francisco was able to showcase their depth as the team received contributions from players all across the board, some for the first time this season. Case in point: rookie wide-out Brandon Aiyuk. Playing in only the second game of his career, the 2020 first-round pick out of Arizona State put a stamp on Sunday's game by hauling in a game-high five receptions for 70-yards. He would also add another 30-yards on the ground to go along with a rushing touchdown, the first of his career. Aiyuk was one of the many 49er players who helped make things easier for backup QB Nick Mullens who made his first start since 2018, getting the nod in place of the injured Jimmy Garoppolo. Mullens who was a hot commodity in the offseason as multiple teams inquired about his services in a possible trade, displayed exactly why coach Shanahan and GM John Lynch made the right decision in keeping him around in case of an emergency. Facing a subpar Giants team that is without their best player in running back Saquon Barkley and under a first-year head coach, the 49ers were still able to have their way despite their decimated roster as Mullens led the charge and took advantage of the opportunity by putting up solid numbers.
After taking a 3-0 lead on their opening possession, the 49er defense was able to turn a Daniel Jones fumble into another Robbie Gould field goal before New York got on the board with a field goal of their own. Gould failed to give his team a six-point lead when his third field goal attempt was missed wide right, which opened the door for the Giants to tie the game at 6-all following another Graham Gano field goal. But the game wouldn't be close for long as the 49ers finally found the end zone thanks to Jerrick McKinnon's third touchdown in as many weeks for the first time in his career. An interception with just over a minute remaining in the first half by Fred Warner, would allow the 49ers to increase their lead to 16-6 heading into the locker room at halftime. Opening the second half with another Giants field goal, the 49er defense would put their foot down by pitching a shutout the rest of the way. Social distancing themselves from the Giants on the scoreboard, Aiyuk's touchdown on San Francisco's first possession of the second half made it a 23-9 ballgame. With tight-end Jordan Reed missing the entire second half after sustaining ankle and knee injuries in the early going, Mullens distributed the ball to ten different receivers, including fourth-string running back Jeff Wilson Jr. who followed up a turnover on downs forced by the 49er defense, with a 19-yard receiving touchdown to blow the game open, 29-9.
Wilson Jr. would add to his busy day one possession later by tallying a rushing touchdown to his daily output as San Francisco increased their lead to 36-9. The final nail in the coffin would come in the form of a forced fumble on receiver Darius Slayton as the 49er defense added to their turnover total and held the Giants offense to their first game without a touchdown since Week 15 of the 2018 season. Coach Shanahan's 49ers team dominated the game in all facets, but perhaps none greater than in the time of possession category as the San Francisco offense controlled the tempo by nearly doubling New York's time of possession: 36:44 to 20:16. In fact, the Giant's 7:34 time of possession in the first half was their lowest in a half since 2000. Contributing to that major mismatch was the fact that the 49ers offense did not punt in the entire game for the first time since Week 16 of the 1993 season. By throwing for 343 yards, 1 touchdown and no interceptions in the dominant win, Nick Mullens tied a franchise record held by the great Joe Montana for tallying at least 220 yards passing in each of his nine career starts. Quite an impressive resume as Mullens entered the game having averaged 285 yards passing per game, a feat that puts him in elite company as only Patrick Mahomes, Andrew Luck and Cam Newton have averaged more through their first eight NFL starts.
Week 4 Preview - Returning to the Bay Area from the east coast, the 49ers will attempt to log their first home win of the season when they host the Philadelphia Eagles (0-2-1) in front of an empty Levi's Stadium on Sunday Night Football. Coming off a 23-23 tie at home against the Cincinnati Bengals, the combination of quarterback Carson Wentz and head coach Doug Pederson will attempt to right the ship and shake off the funk as they seek their first win of the season in a lowly NFC Eastern Division. However, coach Shanahan has other plans as his team is expected to receive reinforcements on offense with the return of tight-end George Kittle, running back Raheem Mostert and receiver Deebo Samuel. A welcoming sight for whoever is at the quarterback position come Sunday, whether that's Nick Mullens or Jimmy Garoppolo. Keeping pace in the NFC West, the 49ers were able to follow up their Week 1 loss with consecutive wins to improve to 2-1 on the year, while also receiving some help in the division as both the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams suffered their first losses of the season to also fall to 2-1. Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks sit atop the division as one of only three unbeaten teams in the NFC thru the first three weeks of the season.
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