San Francisco 49ers @ New York Giants
Final Score: 49ers 34, Giants 24
Writer: Matthew Bevins (MattBQBList on Reddit)
The 49ers rolled into MetLife Stadium on Sunday, with a much different temperature and a much warmer welcome than in San Francisco, looking to improve their record to 6-3. At the same time, the Giants are still a week removed from the reeling effects of losing sparkplug and real-life Juggernaut, Cam Skattebo, to a horrific lower leg injury. The Giants lost one half of their 1-2 punch in Jaxson Dart/Skattebo, and it looks like the team may end up in a space where they start to sell off parts, and Brian Daboll is updating his resume in the offseason for a new opportunity. While this game ended up being closer than anticipated, the dust cleared, and we left the field with the Niners having 6 wins while essentially being Purdy-less, while the Giants are now sitting at 2 wins, with hardly an offensive weapon or chance of going anywhere other than the pool for 1st overall pick next year. We always do our best to find our fantasy takeaways, so let’s see what good we can pull from this game.
Three Up
- Mac Jones – Mac Jones is in the midst of a career resurgence after an Encino Man-iced-out period of time between the Patriots and Jags. When the Niners took a chance on him, it seemed as if it was a desperation move, but he’s quickly become one of the main reasons this team has been competitive. He’s thrown for over 230 yards in three of his last five games and has managed to create an offense that can still be controlled by him, but will not make a large number of mistakes.
- Christian McCaffrey – Christian McCaffrey came into the season with a cognizant “check engine” light on his performances, worried that he could shatter at any given moment. It’s only been 8 full weeks so far, but he looks anything but. Able to become a check-down receiver for Mac when needed, he’s also able to find consistent gaps to rush in, as well as open avenues to catch passes when need be. There’s not much to be gained here; you’re starting him everywhere that you can. It’s just nice to see a positive headline in a year where it seems like the league is the walking wounded.
- Jaxson Dart – Before the season started, there were murmurs of just how long it would take the Giants to turn the offense over to Dart. While Wilson was passable at times, what we ended up seeing was an offense that could be absolutely blown out and was chasing points, and the team desperately needed a jump start. Dart has given that, and despite the loss of Skattebo, and a team ailing after facing superior competition and coaching, what we’re
Three Down
- Jauan Jennings – Jauan Jennings is one of the few players who will have a touchdown on the week and still be in the “Three Down” section, but the fact of the matter is that he had a relatively ineffective output this week. On his first half touchdown, Jennings was able to break off a route and make his defender miss with a snappy cut back, but other than this play, he only had three receptions on the day. With a team dealing with a returning George Kittle and an endlessly ailing Ricky Pearsall, this is the time when freshly inked contract players like Jennings should be showing up.
- Tyrone Tracy – Tyrone Tracy just may have fooled us. A second-day draft pick, Tracy had a very solid rookie season, putting up 839 yards in 12 games last year, but perhaps we were a bit early to his birthday party. Tracy got the opportunity to regain a “starter’s workload” this season after Skattebo was ruled out for the rest of the season last game. He didn’t do much with it in this game. Two dropped catches in the first half. A mediocre rushing output. Maybe the spirit of Devin Singletary will return going forward.
- Brian Daboll – This may be less on coaching than we’d like to admit, but the fact of the matter is that high personality players came in and took over this offense for a few dynamic weeks, and the week they are without their wrecking ball of Skattebo, things absolutely imploded. The team looked to be chasing the entire game. The offense seemed scatterbrained and unable to step up when needed. Dart made some amazing plays despite it, but this team desperately needs some changes, and it may just be the coach that’s making this team almost fantasy poison ivy.
San Francisco 49ers
Quarterback
Mac Jones: 19/24, 235 Yards, 2 TDs | 4 carries, 4 yards
Mac Jones may not make the final cut for top-5 quarterbacks on the year, but the fact that he’s been able to come in completely cold off the bench and help replicate something of a Brock Purdy output is immensely impressive. He’s continued to struggle with almost a weekly pick, but this week he was sharp, relying almost entirely on McCaffrey as a de facto quarterback via the ground, catching passes and rushing in large chunks at will. Jones was able to find McCaffrey in the first quarter on a slick rollout to find McCaffrey with an entire half of the defensive field alone, with a zippy 5-yard touchdown catch that was as pretty as it was painless. Jones will likely see one more start at most before Purdy returns, so his capability is almost moot, but if you’re in a pinch, Jones can entirely control and run this offense on a moment’s notice, and could be hugely impactful if you end up in a quarterback crunch due to a bye week or injury.
Running Back
Christian McCaffrey: 28 carries, 106 yards, 1 TD | 6 targets, 5 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD
Brian Robinson: 5 carries, 53 yards, 1 TD
Kyle Juszczyk: 2 targets, 1 reception, 12 yards
What a world we live in, being able to see Christian McCaffrey play football every week. The former #1 fantasy pick for multiple years had a falling out the past season due to injury concerns, leaving the field mid-game due to injuries, or his inability to suit up for multiple weeks. When the preseason started, we heard murmurs that this was the best McCaffrey had looked and that we would likely see him in full offensive splendor. I don’t think we can be quite so sure we expected anything of this sort. McCaffrey started the game with his touchdown on a rollout to open space and a touchdown. He continued that play and added up numerous yards to finish with 173 all-purpose yards in the game. His rushes were able to be extended, and he even broke off on numerous tackles. When all was said and done, he capped off the final scoring drive with a counter rush into the gut of the Giants’ defense, putting away the game with a smirk and a nod. This is the McCaffrey we don’t deserve, but we needed.
Brian Robinson showed up and reminded us of what we saw in the Commanders’ offense, finding the end zone on an 18-yard rush where he hit contact halfway through his rush, pushed back on the defender, and made his way into the end zone uncontested. The offense is churning, but it was nice to see someone other than McCaffrey get involved, and this could be something we see more of as the year rolls on, as McCaffrey will likely be needed if this team has any playoff hopes.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Kendrick Bourne: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 34 yards
George Kittle: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 32 yards
Jordan Watkins: 1 target, 1 reception, 19 yards
Luke Farrell: 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards
Jauan Jennings: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 41 yards, 1 TD
Skyy Moore: 1 target, 1 reception, 21 yards
Demarcus Robinson: 1 target, 0 receptions
The Niners’ offense didn’t need much more than McCaffrey to secure the win here, as he had just 60 yards short of what Mac Jones put up in the air. The team continued to ease George Kittle into the offense, as the big-bodied and middle-of-the-field weapon was sorely missed for over a month’s worth of games. The team only targeted Kittle four times in the game, but he saw as many snaps (57) as McCaffrey in the game, and given his four targets and highlights, he was as much a factor in allowing Jones to have time to find his weapons and find McCaffrey open as he was being a receiving threat. Kittle goes right back into your top of the tight end charts.
The remaining targets were dominated between McCaffrey and Jennings, who, between the two of them, swallowed up 11 of the final 20 targets in the game. The team has not yet announced when Ricky Pearsall will return, so the targets are being mostly funneled through their high-volume options, not leaving much for players below that line in Kendrick Bourne (former top target just weeks ago), Demarcus Robinson, or Skyy Moore. This team will likely be a tad more experimental when Purdy and Pearsall return.
New York Giants
Quarterback
Jaxson Dart: 24/33, 191 yards, 2 TDs | 8 carries, 56 yards, 1 TD
It’s never a sure thing this early in the season, but after Skattebo hit the ground last week and then left on a cart, Dart became the new frontrunner for rookie of the year. While he was outmatched by the Niners’ offense, the box scores with names covered show that Dart actually had a better quarterback production on the day. While he had fewer passing yards than Jones, he tied his game up with 56 yards rushing on the ground. Thus far this season, he has four games in his six games started with more than 50 yards rushing. Dart will likely continue to rush where needed and, with the loss of their best rusher, will now be the leader for rushing yards more often than not. Dart will find ways to stretch plays, and did so on multiple plays in this game, rushing out of the pocket when pressured and extending drives with his feet. The team needs all the firepower that they can get, and while the team has found one of the best possession receivers in Wan’Dale Robinson to help prop up Dart, you’re now looking at a sneaky top 10 quarterback in upside with Dart, as he finds ways to leave games with 50 yards rushing more often than not, and will find garbage time as well. The game ended with a throwaway drive down by 3 scores, and he found Gunner Olszewski for his first career touchdown when it didn’t matter for some late-game fantasy points.
Running Back
Tyrone Tracy: 5 carries, 18 yards | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 19 yards
Devin Singletary: 8 carries, 43 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 8 yards
Did anyone else hear that? It’s the sound of the opportunity slipping away from Tyrone Tracy once again. Tracy had found himself in a great situation last season and, in 12 games, was a reliable and top-20 running back option for fantasy owners. When this game ended, he was outrushed in yardage by Devin Singletary and is likely going to continue to cede touches to Singletary until he’s overtaken, if he can’t get out of his own way. Tracy looked slow, unable to find rushing lanes, and Singletary had seven more snaps than Tracy in the game. Tracy had more receiving yards and one more reception than Singletary, but that’s about where all the niceties end. Tracy is losing a running back room that doesn’t have anyone waiting in the wings, but on a team where they need all the help they can get, they’re not going to continue and wait on Tracy to figure it out, while the seat for the coaching staff is so hot they can barely sit on it. It’s not totally unexpected if Tracy starts the game next week on the outside looking in, trying to surpass Singletary on the depth chart.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Wan’Dale Robinson: 11 targets, 9 receptions, 46 yards
Theo Johnson: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 27 yards, 1 TD
Darius Slayton: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 62 yards
Gunnar Olszewski: 1 target, 1 reception, 24 yards, 1 TD
RayRay McCloud: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards
The receiver room for the Giants is dominated by Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton, and everyone else will continue to fight for scraps. While Dart threw the ball 33 times, Wan’Dale was the target of a third of those, while Slayton gobbled up another 7 of them.
Theo Johnson had a snazzy touchdown gather in the first quarter, where he caught a pass near the sideline, was hit, and in a moment where it looked like almost everyone thought he was out of bounds, pushed the ball another 9 yards into the endzone for the first Giants touchdown of the game. Theo Johnson has dealt with some ailments over the course of the season, but when he’s on the field, he’s become one of the more reliable fringe tight ends for fantasy value, and should continue to see red-zone opportunities. The final touchdown of the game came on a last-gasp drive where the Giants were out of the game and garbage time ensued. The best way to attack this receiver’s room going forward is to lock in Robinson as a low-end WR2 given his ability to pull in a massive amount of target volume, and Slayton will take off the top whatever remains.