NFL Week 3 Game Recap: San Francisco 49ers 30, New York Giants 12

Week 3 kicked off with the New York Giants traveling to the West Coast, where they fell to 1-2 with a loss to the now 3-0 San Francisco 49ers.

Offensive spotlight: Brock Purdy and the 49ers offensive refused to let drives die and dominated time of possession. They converted 71% of their third downs in this game, with three of those conversions coming due to the Giants defense committing costly defensive penalties. Of the five third-down conversions that didn’t work, three led to made field goals and only two led to a punt. Purdy completed 9-of-12 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown on third down in this game. 

Purdy recorded just a 5.3-yard average depth of target but was able to put up over 300 passing yards in the game due to keeping drives alive and the combination of Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle adding 168 yards after the catch.

The Giants offense struggled to find much consistent success against a smothering 49ers’ defense. Through the air, Daniel Jones averaged only 4.3 yards per pass attempt, which led to just 137 total passing yards on the day. On the ground without Saquon Barkley, the Giants were able to punch in a rushing touchdown but averaged just 2.6 yards per carry for a total of just 29 rushing yards in the game.

Defensive spotlight: The San Francisco defense as a whole deserves praise, as they allowed essentially nothing on the ground in the run game and put Jones under consistent pressure as a passer, sacking him twice and picking him off once. Nick Bosa and the 49ers’ interior defensive line, specifically Javon Hargrave, Arik Armstead, and Javon Kinlaw, all delivered at least three pressures each in this game. 

Rookie spotlight: Seventh-round rookie Ronnie Bell saw an increased opportunity in this game with Brandon Aiyuk inactive due to a shoulder injury. Bell matched his season total with 11 routes run in this game, which led to two receptions for 24 yards and the game's opening touchdown. 

✅ First NFL catch
✅ First NFL TD

The 7th-round pick Ronnie Bell gives the @49ers the lead ???? @Ronnieb_8#NYGvsSF on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/qDMTitTfP0 pic.twitter.com/Ts2t7TluPV

— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2023

Box Score

Passing

Rushing

Receiving