49ers’ Backup QB Mullens Rout NY Giants at MetLife
San Francisco 49ers beat the New York Giants 36-9
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
2020.09.27 – Backup QB Nick Mullens threw for 343 yards and a touchdown as the San Francisco 49ers controlled the ball on offense, took it away on defense and rout the New York Giants in a 36-9 win at MetLife Stadium Sunday.
San Francisco played a near flawless game as Mullens hit 25 for 36 passes, including a 19-yard TD pass to running back Jeff Wilson. It outgained New York 420-231, held the ball for 39:44 and forced three turnovers without giving the ball up. The Giants did not run a play in the red zone.
“Nick was great, very poised,” Shanahan said. “We went on a lot of long drives today. They’re better than not scoring, but long drives can get a little bit exhausting. Especially for me. I don’t want to have to call that many plays.”
“I real happy with this week,” said coach Kyle Shanahan, who wore a mask this week after being fined $100,000 for failing to do so last week in a game that saw his team lose six starters to injuries on a new field his players criticized.
Mullens spread the ball to 10 different pass catchers, including Brandon Aiyuk. The rookie receiver had the first big game of his career: 70 receiving yards and 31 rushing that included a 19-yard jet-sweep touchdown in the third quarter.
“We pulled together throughout the week,” Shanahan said of the concern about the field. “I just got real good energy and vibe from the guys from Wednesday when we started practicing all the way to last night at the hotel meeting. And then today. I thought they played very hard all four quarters, I was very proud of our team.”
Right before halftime, everything started to click for Mullens. The Giants had stacked the line of scrimmage and were snuffing out the 49ers’ run game. When play halted for the two-minute warning, tailbacks Jerick McKinnon and Jeff Wilson had only combined 12 carries for 14 yards.
Mullens, hit tight end Ross Dwelley over the middle for 20 yards on one play then again for 14 yards two snaps later. The completions seemed to get the 49ers into a better flow and their running game awakened as well.
McKinnon ran to the left for 11 yards then followed fullback Kyle Juszczyk through a hole on the left side for a 10-yard touchdown. The score broke a 6-6 tie and the rout was on. The 49ers had the ball for 39:44, the most they’ve hogged it in two seasons. They didn’t attempt a punt on Sunday, the first time that’s happened since 1993.
Wilson, McKinnon and Aiyuk also scored on runs for the Niners (2-1), who stayed in West Virginia to prep for the game. Robbie Gould added three field goals for San Francisco, which last week beat the Jets 31-13 here and denied Giants coach Joe Judge a chance for his first win this week.
“I think early in the first half we were moving the ball pretty good, but we kind of got in some second-and-long situations, and we had to overcome a lot of stuff to keep it going,” Mullens said. “In the second half, those field goals turned to touchdowns, which was huge.”
The 49ers had Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle), defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas (knees) and running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman hurt against the Jets. They complained about the new turf after the game, saying it was “sticky” and led to injuries.
The NFL had the field re-examined and it meet all standards.
San Francisco scored on seven of its first eight possessions. It would have been all eight but a snap-hold problem led to Gould missing a 55-yarder. He connected from 52, 32 and 26 yards. The Niners’ ninth possession ended the game.
2020.09.27 – San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants (Video)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens, center, is sacked by New York Giants Leonard Williams (99) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
2020.09.27 – San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants (Video)
New York, which came into the game as the NFL’s lowest-scoring offense, got three field goals from Graham Gano, the second of which tied the game at 6-all midway through the second quarter. Quarterback Daniel Jones turned the ball over twice.
The Giants finished with just 231 yards and quarterback Jones had a 56.6 passer rating.
The 49ers had trouble stopping Jones on the ground. Two weeks after Kyler Murray rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown, Jones finished with five carries for 49 yards, most of it on a pair of designed quarterback keepers that fooled the 49ers defensive ends.
A 16-yard gain by Jones on a designed run to the 49ers’ 14-yard line in the third quarter was wiped out by offsetting penalties.
“We are not looking for excuses or pointing fingers,” Judge said after his team’s worst effort of the season. “We are not looking for shortcuts. We are looking to build this thing and build it the right way. We’re going to come back Wednesday and work our butts off to get this thing right.”
New York was tied 6-6 midway through the second quarter when the Niners drove 75 yards in 12 plays to take the lead, added by an illegal contract penalty against rookie Darnay Holmes on third-and-22.
McKinnon scored on a 10-yard run with 1:13 left in the half and a 26-yard field goal by Gould pushed the lead to 16-6 at the half. The field goal was set up when linebacker Fred Warner stepped in front of Jones’ pass at the New York 32.
Jones finished 17 of 32 for 179 yards, but the second half was all San Francisco.
“We showed today that we had a lot of depth,” said linebacker Fred Warner, who led the team in tackles for the second straight week and had an interception. “We knew that we were coming in with a lot of injuries, but we wanted to prove to everyone that we’re all we got, we’re all we need.”
REPLACING SAQUON
Wayne Gallman and recently signed Devonta Freeman got most of the carries replacing Saquon Barkley, who was lost for the season to a knee injury last week. Jones once again was New York’s best rusher, gaining 49 yards on five carries. However, he was stopped on a fourth-and-1 sneak at his 30 late in the third quarter that sealed the game.
MULLENS’ RETURN
Mullens was making his first start since replacing an injured Garoppolo for eight games in the 2018 season. He was 8 of 11 for 71 yards in relief last week. His career best game was 414 yards against Seattle in 2018.
KEY INJURIES
49ers: Were also without TE George Kittle, CB Ahkello Witherspoon and LB Dre Greenlaw for the game. They lost Emmanuel Moseley to a (head injury) and TE Jordan Reed (ankle) Sunday. Mosley was hurt making a tackle on a Jones’ run early in the second quarter. Reed, who caught two TDs last week filling in for the injured Kittle, was hurt late in the first trying to make a catch in the end zone. He returned briefly in the second quarter.
Giants: Safety Jabrill Peppers did not play after he hurt his right sprained ankle trying to block (ankle).
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Both teams stood on the sideline for the national anthem. Half the Giants knelt and half stood. The 49ers had two rows of players. Half stood on the sideline. Half stood in front of their bench, about 10 yards behind them.
UP NEXT
San Francisco returns home after a week on the East coast and faces Philadelphia Eagles in a Sunday night game.
Giants travel Los Angeles to face the Rams in Los Angeles for the first time since 1994. From 1995-2015, the Rams were based in St. Louis.
Related – See below: Samuel is off while Reed goes on the 49ers’ IR
Related – See: 49ers Devastating Victory Lose Bosa and Thomas
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL: www.apnews.com/tag/NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco 49ers, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
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Samuel is off while Reed goes on the 49ers’ IR
San Francisco 49ers TE Jordan Reed, center, is sacked by New York Giants (30) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
2020.09.28 – Kyle Shanahan has two of the best tight ends in the league but may have to wait until November to get them back on the field together.
The 49ers head coach on Monday revealed that Jordan Reed suffered an MCL sprain following a low hit in the second quarter of Sunday’s 36-9 rout of the Giants. Reed, who has never played a full 16 games in any of his eight NFL seasons, will be out 6-8 weeks, Shanahan said. The 49ers will place him on injured reserve this week.
Shanahan said he thought Reed, who signed a one-year deal this summer, was “one of the best players on the field” in the 49ers’ Week 2 win over the Jets.
“And he was coming on strong in (Sunday’s) game and was going to be a huge part of it,” Shanahan said. “I know he’s disappointed. But not discouraged. I think he was really liking where he was at. It’s something that’s going to take some time … but is nothing that’s going to affect him after that. Hopefully, we can weather the storm while he’s gone and he’ll come back to a good team.”
Shanahan would not commit to having the team’s other top tight end, George Kittle, in uniform Sunday against the Eagles. Kittle is coming off his own MCL sprain and has missed the last two games. He was limited in three practices last week before being ruled out of the Giants game on Friday.
Reed’s roster spot likely will be taken by receiver Deebo Samuel (foot), who is expected to practice Wednesday. Shanahan said Samuel’s conditioning is good but that he’ll be closely monitored throughout the week before getting a green light to play against Philadelphia. He said Samuel is “pumped” for practice.
“Wednesday will be his first time in a football practice since Super Bowl week,” Shanahan said. “So we’ve got to take that into account also.”
2020.09.27 – San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants (Video)
San Francisco 49ers TE Jordan Reed, center, is looked after by 49ers doctors before the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
2020.09.27 – San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants (Video)
Other injury news:
• At running back, Shanahan said Jerick McKinnon suffered bruised ribs in the fourth quarter Sunday and is day-to-day. The team will evaluate Raheem Mostert (knee) on Wednesday. Tevin Coleman (knee) is on injured reserve and could miss a month or so. All of that means the 49ers may have to call up rookie JaMycal Hasty from the practice squad on Saturday just as they did last week.
• At cornerback, Emmanuel Moseley is in the concussion protocol after he collided with safety Jaquiski Tartt early in the second quarter. Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) will be evaluated this week. That points to a second straight start for Jason Verrett, who received high marks against the Giants. In addition, nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams was dealing with “hip discomfort” on Monday and will be evaluated before Wednesday’s practice, Shanahan said.
• At linebacker, the 49ers will place Mark Nzeocha on injured reserve with a quadriceps injury. Nzeocha also is one of the team’s special teams stalwarts. With that in mind, veteran linebacker Joe Walker, who currently is on the practice squad, seems like a logical replacement. Shanahan expects Dre Greenlaw (quadriceps) to miss another game. That means Azeez Al-Shaair will fill in at strongside linebacker against the Eagles and that Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles will be in uniform for a second straight week.
• At defensive end, Shanahan said Dee Ford (back) will miss the Eagles game and possibly several more. He said the 49ers would decide in the next few days whether to put the edge rusher on injured reserve.
Finally, Shanahan said the team would decide on Wednesday whether quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would practice. He missed all three sessions in West Virginia last week with a high ankle sprain. Shanahan said the quarterback was moving “a lot better” than he was at this time last week.
“But we’re still not sure about Wednesday,” he said. “I know he needs these two days to keep rehabbing and we’ll evaluate it then.”
Shanahan said long snapper Kyle Nelson, who had five bad snaps on Sunday and was replaced by Justin Skule for the game’s final extra point, apologized to the head coach for his performance. Shanahan was sympathetic, noted that Nelson, 33, has been an excellent long snapper for years and told Nelson that the errant snaps didn’t affect the outcome in any way.
Still, the 49ers are looking at their options.
“He understands this business,” Shanahan said. “He understands how the league works and we’re going to bring in some guys (Tuesday) and work ’em out. We’ll see how they look and we’ll decide what’s the best for us going forward.”
Related – See: 49ers Devastating Victory Lose Bosa and Thomas
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL: www.apnews.com/tag/NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco 49ers, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
49ERS FIT – Free 4-Day Pass
EMI Sports Central – EMI Sports Bay Area: Join the conversation on sports news for SF Bay Area teams: Follow @EMIsports on Twitter, “Like” us on Facebook and sign up for our FREE email newsletters.