This morning, the New York Giants (3-6) will play host to the San Francisco 49ers (5-4) at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The 49ers are coming off of a 27-24 overtime victory over the New Orleans Saints. The Giants are coming off of a 38-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
The week, the 49ers announced that star linebacker Patrick Willis' season would be coming to an end. He will have surgery to repair a muscle strain in the big toe on his left foot.
Rookie linebacker Chris Borland has filled in well in place of Willis. He recovered the fumble in overtime last weekend against the Saints that led to the Phil Dawson game-winning field goal. He has had a combined 35 tackles in the past two games.
Beginning with today's game, the 49ers will be welcoming back linebacker Aldon Smith, who has completed a league issued nine-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse and personal conduct policies. His return is just in time as the 49ers hope to make a strong late-season push and make the playoffs. The team remains in third place in the NFC West, three games behind the division leading Arizona Cardinals and a game behind the Seahawks.
The Giants have currently lost four straight games. Last weekend, they gave up an embarrassing 350 rushing yards to the Seahawks, which is just 16 short of the franchise record set in 1978.
Eli Manning's QB rating is 93.1, which matches his career high from 2009. After a rough start to the season, he has just one interception in his past five games.
The Giants offense will get a boost today as they welcome back running back Rashad Jennings, who missed the past four games with a knee injury. He was averaging 4.4 yards per carry for the team. In fact, the Giants averaged 83.3 rushing yards per game in their past four losses. In their three wins preceding that, they averaged 157 yards per game -- a huge difference.
As usual, you can visit 49erswebzone.com for the latest news and updates during and after the game.
Quick Hits:
The 49ers have never played the Giants at MetLife Stadium. However, they are 1-0 at MetLife Stadium, having beaten the New York Jets there in 2012.
With a win today, Jim Harbaugh would improve his record against NFC East opponents to 7-2, including 3-0 this season.
The 49ers defense has given up just 16 rushing plays of 10 or more yards this season, ranking 2nd best in the NFL.
Since taking over as a starting linebacker during Week 7, Chris Borland ranks 1st in the NFL with 43 tackles.
The 49ers have rushed for 122.2 yards per game this season, which ranks 4th in the NFC and 9th in the NFL.
Offensive Rankings:
The 49ers rank 17th with 343.9 yards per game. The Giants rank 18th with 343.4 yards per game.
Defensive Rankings:
The 49ers rank 3rd, allowing 306.4 yards per game. The Giants rank 32nd, allowing 404.9 yards per game.
Last Meeting:
The Giants beat the 49ers 26-3 in 2012 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.
Kickoff:
The game kicks off at 10:00 AM PT.
Betting:
The 49ers are 3.5 point favorites.
Fan Picks:
At Yahoo! Sports, 73% of fans believe that the 49ers will win this game. Within our
Pick 'em contest, 95% of fans believe that the 49ers will win this game.
Follow the Game:
You can follow the game live on
NFL.com's Game Center.
Social Media:
You can also discuss the game with fans in the
49erswebzone.com forums. Become a fan of 49erswebzone.com on
Facebook and
Google+ or follow us on
Twitter.
Television:
The game will be televised on FOX. You can check to see if the game is being aired in your area at
506 Sports.
The San Francisco 49ers started their two-day mandatory minicamp, holding the first practice on Tuesday. Reporters were allowed to observe the session, and there were several noteworthy takeaways.
QB competition? Not yet
Trey Lance and Sam Darnold are rotating first-team reps during practices. Tuesday was Darnold's turn. Wednesday will be Lance's opportunity.
First practice of minicamp is in the books. In 11-11s, I had …First-team QB Sam Darnold 4-7Second-team QB Trey Lance 6-9Third-team QB Brandon Allen 4-4— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows)
The story of San Francisco's offseason is, has been, and will be the quarterback controversy between incumbent Brock Purdy and highly-drafted Trey Lance. Purdy, by merit of his ahead-of-schedule rehabilitation and the eight straight wins he was responsible for, is likely to enter the 2023 season as the starter. That makes Lance's role frustrating to decipher. To anyone not in the building, the dynamic playing out is clear as mud.
There's no question that the standard in Santa Clara is winning. If Purdy offers the 49ers a realistic chance for a 12-13 win season and even odds should they make it back to the Super Bowl, Purdy's in. If Lance is capable of becoming a top-5 QB in this league and tilting that Super Bowl in the 49ers' favor, then he'll find a way to get out on the
The 49ers ended their offseason workout program on Wednesday with their final session of mandatory minicamp. But before they made their way out the door for the summer, the team gave fans and reporters one last dose of info in the form of the final media sessions of the spring.
Among those speaking to reporters on Wednesday were defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, left tackle Trent Williams and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, as well as defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Each session produced some interesting tidbits, which we'll review in this version of 49ers notebook.
Hargrave speaks
Despite being the splash free agent addition of the offseason for the 49ers, Javon Hargrave had not met with the team's beat reporters in person before Wednesday.
As the sun rose over the horizon, fans of the San Francisco 49ers came from all over, with great anticipation, as General Manager, John Lynch, slowly trudged his way upon the hill, disappearing into the fog for just a moment, and reappearing with Kyle Shanahan, to proclaim Brock Purdy the heir to the 49ers' QB throne. (Cue the "Circle of Life" track!)
Alright, so it wasn't exactly like that. But the 49ers' brass has made it a point this offseason to ensure everyone knows Purdy is the team's starting quarterback, once he's healthy. And while it may have lacked the drama of a scene from The Lion King, the declaration was just as impactful. (You know, if we could have had Lynch look out over the kingdom, and then hold young Purdy up in front of the team's cheering
