After a hard-fought win in Arizona Sunday, the Giants stayed on the West Coast in a quick turnaround for a game in San Fransisco Thursday Night. The G-Men went into this game without Saquon Barkley, who clarified before the game that he does indeed have a high ankle sprain, and their star left tackle Andrew Thomas who's dealing with a hamstring injury he sustained in week 1. The Niners on the other hand were coming in at 2-0 and looking like not only the best defensive team in the league but one of the most explosive offenses as well. Big Blue went into the game as 10.5-point underdogs, with the expectation being that the game would be a blowout.
And those expectations were pretty on point.
However, in the first quarter, the Giants did do a good job of showing fight on the defensive side of the ball. They nearly intercepted Brock Purdy multiple times on the first few drives. Plus they did a nice job applying pressure to the young QB, with Kayvon Thibodeaux getting his first sack of his sophomore campaign.
But after allowing the Giants to stay in the game for the first half and into the third, the Niners just hit the gas and left the Giants in the dust. Their offense was too much for the Giant's weak defense. San Fran simply out-muscled them in the second half with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey running right through the Giants' linebackers and secondary. New York simply couldn't keep up offensively or defensively and it showed that their inferior roster didn't have what it takes to stack up against one of the league's best.
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| Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images |
All things considered, this game could have gone a lot worse. The Giants showed some pride and stood the test for as long as they could instead of just lying down and dying like they did against Dallas. Without Barkley, DJ was forced to pass all game and did pretty well under pressure. The o-line while not giving him too much time was still able to only let up 2 sacks on the night. Plus the defense finally showed some life getting their first 2 sacks of the year. I also like what I saw from young corners Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins who made some great breakups in pass coverage. Aside from that there is not much else I have to say. I expected the Giants would lose by double digits without Barkley and Thomas and they did just that.
But on the bright side, I still think there is hope for the Giants. New York's next 6 games are vs. Seattle, @ Miami, @ Buffalo, vs. Washington, vs. the Jets, and @ Las Vegas. 4 of those games, (excluding Miami and Buffalo) should be very winnable. Especially considering Thomas should be back against the Seahawks. And with Barkley being the fast healer that he is, he could be available for that MNF game as well. If the Giants want to compete for the playoff these games are going to be crucial down the stretch. And it all starts October 2nd at home in primetime. I'll leave you with a message for Giants both Giants fans and the players alike. Put this loss behind you, take these 11 days to rest and get healthy and then buckle up because this is going to be a wild ride.
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