Amid a smoke-filled Levi's Stadium on Monday Night Football in Week 10, the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants battled to a 13-10 first-half score in favor of the Niners. Here are your first-half notes and analysis.
The New York Giants defense was going to be a bit stiffer a challenge for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens on Monday Night Football who, after the Niners defense forced a Giants 3-and-out on the opening drive in Week 10, had to lead his offense to a 53-yard field goal by kicker Robbie Gould.
Later in the quarter, Mullens attempted an ill-advised, across-his-body pass to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, which was deflected into the hands of Giants defensive back B.J. Goodson. Three plays later, New York quarterback Eli Manning hit wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for a 10-yard touchdown to give the Giants a 7-3 early lead:
.@obj pulling down that first touchdown of the night 👀 pic.twitter.com/cji0LD9AZi
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 13, 2018
Beckham found a sweet spot between Niners defensive backs K'Waun Williams and Jimmie Ward. It was interesting to see coordinator Robert Saleh call for a Cover 3 defense in the red zone, as it left the seam wide open for Beckham to exploit.
Yet Mullens and the offense managed to respond, as the quarterback used tight end George Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk to get back into the Giants' red zone. And running back Matt Breida, rushing from three yards out, punched it in to give San Francisco the 10-7 lead:
.@MattBreida is IN! @49ers TD!
📺: #NYGvsSF on @ESPN! pic.twitter.com/vpd5edGQQQ
— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2018
Breida accounted for 52 yards on nine carries over the first half, averaging 5.8 yards per attempt. But tight end George Kittle was the biggest offensive difference maker, hauling in five first-half passes for 66 yards.
Meanwhile, Mullens' stat line read 12-of-18 for 112 yards and the interception, all for a passer rating of 60.4. Overall, San Francisco outgained the Giants 167 yards to 119 in the first half.
Cornerback Richard Sherman was flagged for a pass-interference call, which gave the Giants the ball at the 10-yard line. It might have been a ticky-tack call, but it stood as the clock reached the two-minute warning. But thanks to an excellent run stop against rookie running back Saquon Barkley by linebacker Fred Warner, the Giants were forced to settle for a game-tying 20-yard field goal with 1:50 remaining.
Armed with two timeouts, though, Mullens helped get the offense back into field-goal range, where Gould hit his second conversion of the night to take the 13-10 lead heading into halftime.
The 49ers will start the second half on offense.
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Written by:Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
