49ers vs. Giants: Live San Francisco Score and Analysis

The 5-4 San Francisco 49ers looked to continue their winning ways as they traveled to MetLife Stadium to take on the 3-6 New York Giants in Week 11. The game started at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox.

San Francisco was coming off a thrilling 27-24 overtime victory over the New Orleans Saints, while New York suffered an embarrassing 38-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks—a game in which Seattle gained 350 yards on the ground.

These stats pushed the Giants' run defense to last in the NFL.

This figured to play into the 49ers' strengths. A well-balanced offense, which featured widespread use of running backs Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde, could have dominated a weakened New York run defense.

But San Francisco faced some of its own challenges. Perennial Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis will miss the remainder of the season with a toe injury while rookie defensive back Jimmie Ward has also been placed on injured reserve with a foot injury.

Fellow corner Tramaine Brock (hamstring) was ruled out, too.

However, the 49ers defense was reinforced by the reinstatement of linebacker Aldon Smith, who is coming off a nine-game suspension handed down by the NFL at the start of the year.

San Francisco's defense has done a good job of overcoming setbacks throughout the season. Rookie linebackers Aaron Lynch and Chris Borland are perfect examples.

Will Borland, Lynch and the rest of the defensive cast be able to hold off quarterback Eli Manning and an inconsistent Giants offense?

Moreover, how can the 49ers muster offensive consistency of their own? The running game figured to be a decisive element, but can San Francisco translate some long drives into red-zone scores? They were unable to do so in the first half.

The game may very well hinge on this ability.

But the Giants were able to score first. After a Frank Gore fumble, the Giants moved down the field and tight end Larry Donnell hauled in a 19-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Eli Manning. San Francisco answered back with a field goal on its subsequent drive, followed up by another in the second quarter.

A Chris Borland interception set up another 49ers field goal that gave San Francisco its first lead.

San Francisco started the scoring in the second half. Colin Kaepernick was able to hook up with wideout Michael Crabtree for a 48-yard touchdown score. New York tried to answer back on its subsequent drive, but had to settle with a Josh Brown field goal.

But the 49ers were unable to increase their lead, and they had to rely upon the defense to hold an attempted Giants' comeback late in the game.

The comeback never materialized, and San Francisco is able to move to 6-4.

FINAL: 49ers 16, Giants 10

All statistics, records and injury information courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.

Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive on 49ers' news, insight and analysis.

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