SF returns to NY with its backup plan ready
49ers return to the scene of last Sunday’s injury barrage to play Giants
This is a pivot point in the 49ers’ season.
When they return to MetLife Stadium and its trap- door field, the 49ers will be missing a parade of A-listers against the New York Giants.
Absent from their depth chart: QB1, RB1, RB2, TE1, WR1, DE1, DE2, DT1, LB3, CB1.
Names? None is bigger than Nick Bosa, their top defender and the NFL’s reigning Rookie of the Year, who sustained a season-ending knee injury on the same field
last Sunday in a 31-13 rout of the Jets.
No position looms bigger in the NFL than quarterback, and Jimmy Garoppolo’s high- ankle sprain last Sunday will sideline him in favor of Nick Mullens’ first start since 2018.
No captain means more to the 49ers’ overall vibe than George Kittle, and even though he’s practiced this week, his Week 1 knee injury warrants an extra game off than expose it to MetLife’s synthetic surface, which got inspected and cleared since last Sunday’s leg-injury pileup.
The 49ers (1-1) insist their backups are ready, capable of repeating last year’s fill-in work that galvanized them en route to the Super Bowl.
It should help that the Giants (0-2) are far from full strength, that they lost their best player to a season- ending knee injury, too. And soon after running back Saquon Barkley hit injured reserve, so did wide receiver Sterling
Shepard. The 49ers should bear no sympathy.
Lose, and only then can the 49ers’ excuses flow: Injuries, field conditions, injuries, officiating, injuries, and maybe even homesickness, because they’ve holed up in the West Virginia mountains between this New York-New York act.
A coached-up skeleton crew still should be enough for a 49ers win, and here are a few secrets to their success:
1. QUARTERBACK CAPABILITIES >> The run-first 49ers will not flinch as Mullens starts in place of Garoppolo, nor will coach Kyle Shanahan overhaul his mismatchoriented game plan.
Mullens’ moxie won over teammates and fans when he went 3-5 to close a hellacious 2018. He was their third QB after Garoppolo tore an ACL and C.J. Beathard went 0-5.
Kittle said of Mullens: “He’s locked in. He’s got the game plan down. He’s got a rocket for an arm. He’s slinging it. He’s confident.”
He should be. Mullens is in his fourth year in Shanahan’s complex system. He has the competitive fire needed to elevate teammates amid a storm of injuries.
Does the Giants’ Daniel Jones offer that? Drafted sixth overall last year, Jones is just 3-12 as a starter. He has lost 11 of his past 12. “Jones, he’s a good player. He is,” 49ers defensive co
ordinator Robert Saleh said with a convincing plea.
Saleh respects Jones’ toughness, pocket presence and mobility, the latter of which is worth noting in terms of a historical mile marker. In Week 3 last year, he won his starting debut and NFC Player of the Week honors, passing for two touchdowns before running for his second score to top Tampa 32-31.
2 . RE BUI LT DEF ENSI V E FRONT >> Losing Bosa’s relentless drive and top-tier talent is crushing. He was the star attraction to one of the NFL’s best defensive fronts, which also lost defensive tackle Solomon Thomas to a knee injury two snaps after Bosa. Add in Dee Ford’s vanishing act because of a back injury and the 49ers need to re-establish their potential.
Defensive ends Ziggy Ansah and Dion Jordan joined the roster and have the opportunity to show what made them 2013 topfive draft picks elsewhere. Both should have chances
to flash off the edge and get to Jones, along with Kerry Hyder.
When Arik Armstead is not inside and manning an end spot, keep a lookout for rookie Javon Kinlaw, the 49ers’ top pick this year who could be a strong interior force with D.J. Jones, Kentavius Street and Kevin Givens.
3. TIGHT END TALE-OF-TAPE >> One of the NFL’s best tight ends will be on display, and we’re not talking about whether Jordan Reed can excel like last Sunday’s twotouchdown outburst.
The Giants’ top offensive threat is Evan Engram.
With linebacker Dre Greenlaw (quadriceps) out, that will impact how the team covers the Giants tight ends.
Jones targeted Engram 15 times this season for eight receptions. Tight ends always make for kind friends to young quarterbacks, and the Giants’ nextbest two are former 49ers Kaden Smith and Levine Toilolo.