Grading the 49ers in their Week 9 Win over the Giants
A Win is a Win
Week 9 is in the books and it was a bittersweet victory to say the least. The battle was won, but the war is in ever growing peril. The latest damage coming by way of an ACL tear sustained by standout rookie DE Mykel Williams. Williams joins Nick Bosa as the second 49ers stud to be felled by the hazardous MetLife turf in the last five seasons. It’s a shame as the offense looked as good as they have all season, Christian McCaffrey, Mac Jones, and the big uglies were on fire. Let’s get into it.
Offense
Quarterback: A-
Mac Jones was clinical in East Rutherford. 19/24, 235 yards and two touchdowns, achieving a rating of 135.2. He was blindsided on a sack-fumble, an error more so on the offensive line giving Brian Burns a clean runway to the QB. Fumble notwithstanding, Jones didn’t throw an incompletion in the first half, going 16/16.
The only reason I could not go full A here was the very low degree of difficulty he was faced with. The Giants secondary is subpar and the two touchdowns were gimme’s. Still, this game was yet another strong data point in Jones’ case for being the best backup in the NFL. If he keeps this up John Lynch will be fielding trade calls when the season ends.
Offensive Line: A-
The Giants sport one of the better defensive lines in the NFL, so there was valid cause for concern ahead of Sunday’s matchup regarding how the offensive line would fair. They went out there and punched ‘em in the mouth. Moving bodies north, south, east, and west. Their efforts contributed to producing 159 yards for the running backs, and kept Mac mostly clean on his drop backs. Trent Williams had a perfect block on third overall pick Abdul Carter to secure the first touchdown of the game, one of his best highlights of 2025. A- for the big fellas, ya love to see it.
Running backs: A+
What else can you say about a 28/106/1 game for Christian McCaffrey, who added 5/67/1 through the air for good measure. Another legendary performance in what is becoming a legendary season for the 1/1 talent. Brian Robinson also had his best day in a 49ers uniform, going 5/51/1 to supplement the CMC explosion, as well as adding a big kick return. Just fantastic work all around, it doesn’t get much better than that. A+ for the duo.
Tight Ends and Wide Receivers: B+
If one were to strictly watch box scores this grade might come off as overly generous. Hear me out. The return of George Kittle’s run blocking utility cannot be overstated. When you see the flashy rushing totals versus Atlanta or New York, you’re seeing a Kittle stat.
Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne each had key third down conversions, Jauan ran a beauty of a route for second touchdown of the game. Jordan Watkins made his first NFL catch, welcome to the squad. The only reason their numbers weren’t higher was because of the domination on the ground. This group as a whole did the dirty work needed to pound the rock on Sunday, and when their number was called through the air they came through. It wasn’t the prettiest B+ in the world, but a B+ nonetheless.
Defense
Rushing Defense: C+
Sunday was far from a disaster in rushing defense. Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy Jr. combined for 61 yards on 13 carries, 4.7 YPC. Dart added eight of his own for 56. Had the game stayed closer for longer, I suspect the Giants rushing total would have eclipsed 150. The most impressive contributor to this effort was by far Tatum Bethune and his 16 tackles, the highest for any 49er since 2015. Still, I cannot get to a B range here. We’ll C if they can get this up next week against the vaunted Sean McVay ground game.
Passing Defense: B
It’s worth noting, roughly 60 yards and a touchdown from Jaxon Dart’s 191 and two scores came in garbage time. Not too much to get into here, the Giants were entirely devoid of weapons after the loss of Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo. The only exemplary performance of was second year CB Renardo Green, racking up six tackles and 2 pass breakups on his way to earning the highest grade for any SF defender (76.2). All in all a very solid game, the definition of B work.
Special Teams: A+
Fan favorite Eddy Pineiro went 4/4 on his extra points, and 2/2 of his field goals with a long of 54 yards. The man continued his lights out streak since joining the team. Robinson Jr. produced one of the better returns of the year, a 41 yarder which set up the final touchdown for SF. Most importantly of all, we have competent kick coverage ladies and gentlemen. Six kickoffs yielded an average starting field position of 28.5, two punts started NY drives on the 7 and 21-yard lines. This was easily the best game of the season for Brant Boyer’s boys.