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San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, right, runs against New York Giants cornerback Adoree’ Jackson during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Dealing with a team as talented as the San Francisco 49ers is difficult enough in the best of circumstances.
For the New York Giants, doing it without their best offensive playmaker and best offensive lineman proved to be too much to overcome.
New York’s offense never managed to get going without Saquon Barkley and Andrew Thomas against San Francisco’s tenacious defense, with Daniel Jones spending much of the day on the run during a 30-12 loss to the 49ers on Thursday night.
“We didn’t create a rhythm, we didn’t execute, we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities,” Jones said. “Certainly it is a good defense, a good team, and so when you’re playing good teams, you can’t afford to do that. We didn’t play well enough. It was frustrating at times, but I felt like we were in the game really until the end and had chances to make plays really to the end.”
Barkley is the focal point of New York’s offense and with him on the sideline with a sprained ankle, the running game was grounded and that limited when the Giants (1-2) could do with their play-action passes.
“No excuses,” coach Brian Daboll said. “With anybody who missed the game, or who played, we have to go out there and compete and win football games.”
Jones was under heavy pressure all night from Nick Bosa and Co. and only managed to avoid being sacked more than twice by getting rid of the ball quickly and not challenging the 49ers down the field. He finished 22 for 32 for 137 yards and one interception, while managing 5 yards rushing.
The Giants had five three-and-outs and one turnover…
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