Giants' defense continues to struggle in loss to 49ers
Jaxson Dart of the Giants is taken down during a first-quarter run by Tatum Bethune and Upton Stout of the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Giants wore their classic 1980s uniforms Sunday to honor one of their golden eras. Their current defense, however, is nothing close to it.
Instead, they spiraled into a new month with the familiar issues of not stopping the run or explosive plays. It led to a 34-24 loss to the 49ers, whose loud fans made MetLife Stadium feel like a home game for the visitors.
A week after Saquon Barkley torched the Giants’ defense, Christian McCaffrey took his turn. He had 106 rushing yards, a team-high 67 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Brian Robinson Jr. added 53 yards on five carries, with three of his runs at least 10 yards. The Giants gave up six runs of at least 10 yards on their way to a third straight loss.
“The defense gotta be better,” linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “Front seven gotta be better. Back seven gotta be better. We gotta be stout in the run game to even have a chance to rush the passer.”
It was a poor tribute to the 1980s Giants defenses that were among the league’s best against the run. This year’s Giants entered with the NFL’s worst run defense.
Leading 20-10 to open the fourth quarter, the 49ers ran the ball on all but two plays the rest of the game. They scored touchdowns on two drives capped by an 18-yard run by Robinson and a 3-yard run by McCaffrey.
“I wouldn’t say they had a ton of explosives, but they ran it and they were pretty productive running the football,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “Longest one was, I think, 18 yards. But you know . . . averaged 4.1 [yards per carry], [39] carries. We’ve got to do a better job in that area.”
For the third consecutive season, the Giants are 2-7. They’ve allowed more than 30 points in three straight games, matching a streak last season from Dec. 15-29. In their last nine quarters, the Giants have given up 105 points.
It overshadowed another decent performance by quarterback Jaxson Dart. In his sixth start, the rookie was 24-for-33 for 191 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He also ran for 56 yards and a score on eight carries.
For the fourth time, he led the Giants to an opening-drive touchdown. This one was capped by a 15-yard TD pass to Theo Johnson, who stiff-armed a defender, stayed in bounds and dived into the end zone. But after that, the Giants were outscored 27-3 until Dart’s 6-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.
“I don’t think we were great on first and second downs. We got into a lot of third-and-longs, and in this league, it’s really hard,” said Dart, who was sacked twice. “They did a really good job of just keeping everything in front of them.”
McCaffrey caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Mac Jones on the 49ers’ opening drive to tie it at 7. Jauan Jennings caught an 11-yard TD pass on the next drive after getting open by juking rookie cornerback Korie Black to the ground.
Black made his first career start as the Giants were without starters Paulson Adebo and Cor’Dale Flott. The secondary also was without safety Jevon Holland (knee).
Jones took full advantage, going 14-for-14 for 143 yards in the first half and finishing 19-for-24 for 235 yards. The 49ers scored on three of their first four drives, including a 54-yard field goal by Eddy Pineiro.
The Giants, however, forced a mistake by Jones near halftime. With 38 seconds left, Brian Burns’ 11th sack of the season forced Jones to fumble the ball in the air and into the hands of rookie linebacker Abdul Carter, giving the Giants the ball at the 49ers’ 27-yard line. They couldn’t capitalize, though, and Graham Gano was wide left on a 44-yard field-goal attempt for his first miss this season.
“You have to get points. It’s definitely a sour taste,” Dart said. “But we’ve got to be able to come out in the second half and respond better and play complementary football.”
Gano converted a 22-yard field goal in the third quarter. The defense then forced a three-and-out, with Burns swatting down a pass, but the Giants couldn’t move the ball. Dart was sacked for a 7-yard loss to force second-and-17 and the Giants punted two plays later with 1:42 left in the quarter.
The 49ers scored touchdowns on their next two possessions, which featured runs on 13 of the 15 plays.
It made it clear that the Giants’ defense is a crippling anchor that weighs them down. On a day meant to honor their past, they showed just how far they are from those 1980s glory days.
“Everyone as an individual has to look at themselves and see if they’re executing,” defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said. “If they’re in the right spots, if they’re doing the right thing, if they’re studying longer, if they’re making the plays that come to them.”
Notes & quotes: Linebacker Darius Muasau (ankle), center John Michael Schmitz (shin) and receiver Beaux Collins (neck) left the game with injuries and didn’t return.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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