A Preview
Week 3 kicked off with a match-up between the New York Giants (who are now 1-2 and at the bottom of the NFC East) and the San Francisco 49ers (3-0 and first in the NFC West). These two teams both came off good wins in Week 2, and the game presented an interesting match-up for Thursday Night Football.
The First Half
The game began at 8:15 at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco, and six minutes in the 49ers kicked a field goal after charging down the field, taking a 3-0 lead in the game. The Giants then matched them as they kicked their own field goal to tie it at 3-3. That is how the first quarter ended, with the game tied at 3-3. The scoring continued in the second quarter with a statement from the 49ers, as they scored the first touchdown of the game with a short pass. This made the score 10-3 with about eight minutes to go in the first half. After forcing the Giants offense off the field and getting the ball back, the 49ers began a long drive that would result in a touchdown. The rushing touchdown was the 49ers second that quarter. This made the score 17-3, and the Giants got the ball with less than two minutes left. In the final seconds of the second quarter the Giants, after having had a short drive, got into close enough range for a long field goal, making it a 17-6 game going into halftime.
The Second Half
The third quarter began with the Giants stopping the 49ers and forcing a punt, which then resulted in the Giants rushing for their first touchdown of the game to make it 17-12. The Giants attempted to a two-point conversion to cut the lead to three points, a field goal, but they were easily stopped by the 49ers defense, keeping the lead at five points. To answer the Giants touchdown, the 49ers got into range and then kicked a field goal, which made the score 20-12, giving them an eight point lead over the Giants. The fourth quarter began where the third ended, with the 49ers heading down the field. They ended up settling for a field goal, which would make the score 23-12 , and the Giants were now down 12. After stopping the Giants offense, the 49ers storm down the field and a long pass for a touchdown made it 30-12, and that is how the game would end.
The Takeaway
The Giants’ season has been a mixed bag after three weeks. Week 1 was an utter disaster, as they lost 40-0 on their home turf to the Dallas Cowboys. Week 2, a road match-up against the Arizona Cardinals, looked to have a gloomy outlook (they were down 21-0 at the half), but they stormed back in the second half, eventually winning the game 31-28. Week 3 was another tough loss, but it came at the hands of another elite team in the NFL, the 49ers. This makes football fans wonder, are the Giants really what their record is? They came back against a surprisingly good Cardinals team, that Dallas recently lost to in Week 3 by a score of 28-16. Perhaps the biggest indicator as to where the Giants currently sit amongst the league’s power rankings will be evident in their Week 4 matchup, taking on the 2-1 Seattle Seahawks at home.
