San Francisco 49ers Waste Stellar Performance in Loss to Giants

Colin Kaepernick had his best game of the season, and the San Francisco 49ers still lost to the New York Giants 30-27. The Niners’ record is 1-4, and they’re in last place in the NFC West.

But they seem to have a quarterback. Kaepernick saved his job Sunday night. With another stinker, the Niners would have had to bench him—they would have had no choice.

Kaepernick took the decision out of their hands. He completed his first three passes and seemed to gain confidence for the first time in weeks. By the second quarter, he was zipping fastballs into tight windows like he used to.

Kaepernick threw two touchdowns in the red zone and no picks. The Giants sacked him only twice, and he was running out of bounds both times. He completed passes to nine different players, and the offense converted on eight of 14 third downs.

And yet the Niners still lost. They’re still in last place.

Running back Carlos Hyde was even better than Kaepernick, who was facing the league’s worst pass defense. Hyde dominated the league’s best run defense, especially in the second half, when he rushed 13 times for 81 yards—6.2 yards per carry—despite playing on what appeared to be an injured leg.

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In the first quarter, Hyde knocked out Giants starting linebacker Jon Beason. As the game went on, New York seemed to lose all interest in tackling San Francisco's starting tailback. The Giants defenders watched as he breezed into the end zone for a touchdown with one minute, 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

But the Niners still lost. They’re still in last place.

San Francisco offensive coordinator Geep Chryst was brilliant against the Giants. During the week, he told reporters he had made a major adjustment to the Niners offense, although he wouldn’t say what the adjustment was (h/t the Santa Rosa Press Democrat).

Apparently, it was calling short passes that allowed Kaepernick to get rid of the ball quickly. Call it the Five-and-Dime offense.

Kaepernick’s first completion was a screen to wide receiver Bruce Ellington, who ran for 31 yards. Kaepernick’s next completion was another screen to Ellington—this time for nine yards. The Giants didn’t expect Ellington to get the ball to open the game—he hadn’t caught a pass since Week 1. That was terrific play-calling.

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On 3rd-and-long, Chryst did not allow Kaepernick to throw downfield. Instead, Chryst called conservative plays, like screens, because he didn’t want Kaepernick to throw another interception and lose confidence. Chryst’s top priority was managing the shaky quarterback, not picking up the first down—smart.

After Kaepernick started nickel-and-diming his way down the field, the Giants would start playing press coverage to take away the underneath passes. That’s when Chryst would call a deep shot for San Francisco's slowest receiver—Anquan Boldin—and catch New York by surprise. Then Chryst would go back to the Five-and-Dime offense.

Chryst managed Kaepernick perfectly. As a result, the Giants defense couldn’t stop the Niners offense in the second half.

They still lost. They’re still in last place.

Even Eric Mangini coached well, despite his defense giving up 30 points. He was able to confuse Eli Manning before the snap. Manning couldn’t tell which way the Niners safeties were going to rotate, so he ended up checking down and throwing short, safe passes for most of the second half.

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The Niners probably would have won if they could have stopped the checkdowns in the flat, the short passes over the middle and the screens. But they couldn’t stop them.

Just a couple of seasons ago, the Niners had the best group of linebackers in the league, maybe the best group of linebackers ever. Now, they stink—except outside linebacker Aaron Lynch. He’s good. But the others aren’t.

Former All-Pro inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman was one of the worst players on the field Sunday night. He couldn’t cover any of the Giants running backs or tight ends.

For most of the night, Bowman was covering New York running back Shane Vereen, who caught eight passes for 86 yards. He torched Bowman. Mangini eventually made rookie safety Jaquiski Tartt cover Vereen and Bowman cover Giants tight end Larry Donnell.

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

It didn’t help. When the Giants were at the Niners' 12-yard line, down by four points with less than a minute left, and needed a touchdown, they went after Bowman, of course. Why do anything else?

Manning’s pass floated over Bowman’s head and into the hands of Donnell—touchdown. And that was the game. A terrific team effort went down the tubes.

“There were some things there to build on,” head coach Jim Tomsula said at his postgame press conference, per CSNBayArea.com. “Felt like there were steps made.”

The 49ers still lost. They're still in last place.

Better luck next season.

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