EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — It doesn’t get any easier for the battered and bruised New York Giants or rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Big Blue fell 34-24 to the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon for their seventh loss of the season. Christian McCaffrey led the way for the 49ers, rushing for 106 yards on 28 attempts, with two touchdowns. Mac Jones, starting for the injured Brock Purdy, threw for 235 yards and completed 19 of 24 passes, with two touchdowns.
Dart, who head coach Brian Daboll called “the leader” of the Giants, was unable to lift the injury-riddled Giants, who entered Sunday’s game without their top running back (Cam Skattebo) and wide receiver (Malik Nabers), who both suffered season-ending injuries. Dart managed to throw for 191 yards and completed 24 of 33 pass attempts, with two passing touchdowns. In the fourth quarter, he added a rushing touchdown as he ran for a team-high 56 yards.
“He battles,” Daboll said about Dart’s performance. “Kid gives everything he has, competes 60 minutes, makes good decisions. We’ve got to do a good job of finishing plays around him too.”
Entering Sunday, the Giants (2-6) had only beaten teams above .500 (Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles). They looked to continue that trend against the 5-3 49ers, who were without Purdy, out with a right big toe injury.
The Giants also entered Week 9 with a significant share of injuries. Last week in Philadelphia, Skattebo, who led the team with seven touchdowns, suffered a dislocated ankle, fibula fracture and a deltoid ligament rupture, ending his season. New York previously lost Nabers for the year with a torn ACL, leaving Dart with a depleted supporting cast.
The Giants moved swiftly downfield on the first drive and opened the scoring with a touchdown, as Dart found Theo Johnson with a 15-yard pass. New York amassed 64 yards on 10 plays across 4:10 of possession.
San Francisco evened the score on their first drive, as New York left Christian McCaffrey open for an easy 5-yard touchdown pass from Jones — in the fourth quarter, McCaffrey added a 3-yard touchdown run. The 49ers took the lead early in the second quarter, as Giants cornerback Korie Black briefly lost his footing, allowing Jauan Jennings to gain a step for a touchdown reception.
Just before half, 49ers kicker Eddy Pineiro extended his team’s lead to 17-7 with a 54-yard field goal, and nailed a 33-yard attempt early in the third quarter to put San Francisco up by 13.
Giants kicker Graham Gano had a 45-yard attempt to tie the game in the waning moments of the first half, but missed wide left. He hit a 22-yard attempt in the third quarter to cut the 49ers’ lead in half.
Early in the fourth quarter, Brian Robinson Jr. ran in an 18-yard touchdown to put the 49ers ahead by 16, and the game out of reach for the Giants, who, despite a 6-yard rushing touchdown from Dart and a Gunner Olszewski 24-yard touchdown reception later in the quarter, fell to 2-7 on the season.
Dart appeared to be banged up on the sideline near the end of Sunday’s game. Daboll said the quarterback told him he was good, but as a competitor, the losses are frustrating.
“He’s a competitor,” Daboll said. “So to get these results, it should frustrate you.”
