If you had the stamina, discipline, and digestive system to sit through it, then what you saw at the Meadowlands yesterday was, in NFL terms, an atrocity.
The San Francisco 49ers, a team all but pounded down into a practice squad, was so rattled by their ghastly litany of injuries that they were blaming MetLife Stadium's surface for their problems. Not only were the Niners missing their best player on offense (George Kittle) and defense (Nick Bosa), they were without their starting quarterback (Jimmy Garoppolo), star halfback (Raheem Mostert), and his wingman (Tevin Coleman), as well as dazzling wideout Deebo Samuel and veteran corner and defensive conciliator Richard Sherman.
Yet, with all their best players on the shelf, the 49ers still stomped the New York "Football?" Giants, 36-9, inside a carved-out MetLife Stadium. Maybe it was merciful, at least for Big Blue fans, not to sit there and watch their team get vaporized by a skeleton crew.
Daniel Jones, who just one year ago was seen as a savior, freshly branded "Danny Dimes" for his pinpoint passes and refreshing mobility, turned the ball over two more times; after leading the league in turnovers in 2019, he added to his career total Sunday with one interception and one botched pitch in the backfield for a lost fumble.
Meanwhile, with Nick Mullens at quarterback, the 49ers had two touchdown drives of 75 yards and one drive lasting 92 yards. Mullens completed eight more passes than Jones on just four more attempts. In all, 10 different 49ers caught a pass - a stunning stat you'd expect to hear about top-tier quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes, not a career backup.
And for those of us who told you that the Giants were different from the Jets, not just in their respective histories but also current directions, allow us to apologize. There is no reason, nor an excuse, for what passed for football on that field in Bergen County, New Jersey. You expected one team to look like a sliver of itself, just not the Giants.
Sure, all teams look bad when they get routed. But the Giants looked dumb, poorly coached, and barely motivated to play pro football. And if anyone tells you effort wasn't an issue, just a gap in talent, please run from that person. Even without their best and most explosive player, Saquon Barkley, the Giants could – should - have scored a touchdown against that emaciated San Francisco defense.
Even without their playoff and Pro Bowl stars, the 49ers notched 29 first downs. The Giants had 13. The 49ers ran 73 plays. The Giants ran 49. San Francisco practically lapped the Giants in total yards, 420 to 231. This is especially galling when you realize both teams had nine total drives. The depleted 49ers just averaged a full yard more per play (5.8 to 4.7), and had they held onto the ball for just 16 more seconds, they would have doubled the Giants in time of possession, 40 minutes to 20.
In Chicago, they have a name for games like the Giants played: "pitching a steamer." Surely you get the graphic. And if you weren't dashing to the bathroom between plays to let go of your lunch, then you have a vibranium stomach.
That thing that passed for pro football was not about an X or O, nor about scripted plays or gifted players. One team came to represent their team and town and at least be worthy of a win. Some of us thought it would be the Giants, who desperately needed a win to keep from plunging to 0-3 on the season. But instead it was the 49ers, a team playing its second straight road game, on the East Coast, at the allegedly haunted MetLife Stadium - the scene and cause of all their wounds - who fly back to Silicon Valley at 2-1.
While this was less than you'd expect from a pro football game, it represents more than a football game. That was a reckoning. The Giants, much like their MetLife roommates, are in trouble. Teams lose games and then bounce back, just as people do in all endeavors. But what happened yesterday was an embarrassment to football at all levels, and even a disgrace to the men who huddled at that car dealership in Canton 100 years ago to draw up what we now call the NFL. If the Giants can't see that, hear that, or feel that, then they aren't worth watching anymore.
Follow Jason Keidel on Twitter: @JasonKeidel
