San Francisco vs. New York
GAME: New York Giants (5-2) at San Francisco 49ers (2-5).
TIME: Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EST.
The New York Giants rode a wave of emotion from the death of owner Wellington Mara to a near-perfect performance last week.
The challenge now for New York is to avoid a letdown against the last-place San Francisco 49ers, the kind of effort it had with an identical record last season that started an eight-game losing streak.
Mara, one of the NFL’s most influential owners, succumbed to cancer at age 89 last Tuesday. Two days after a touching farewell, the Giants routed the Washington Redskins 36-0 in their best game of the season.
Tiki Barber ran for a career- and NFL season-high 206 yards and a touchdown, and New York’s usually spotty defense forced four turnovers and sacked Washington’s Mark Brunell and Patrick Ramsey five times. It was the team’s first regular-season shutout since 1998.
Barber, who got things started with a 59-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, surpassed his previous single-game high of 203 yards set against Philadelphia at the end of the 2002 season.
“It was a big day and a special day for me, especially considering the events of the past week,” said Barber, one of the Giants who was especially close to Mara. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Washington managed just 34 yards in the first half and finished with 125. The Giants didn’t allow the Redskins to cross midfield until the last minute of the third quarter.
Prior to last week, New York had managed 11 sacks in six games.
“We had good pressure, and that’s where it started,” said coach Tom Coughlin, whose team has rebounded from an overtime loss at Dallas with impressive back-to-back wins.
New York’s performance did have a few flaws, as Eli Manning had his poorest game of the season. He missed badly on a number of throws and finished 12-for-31 for 146 yards with one touchdown.
Any negative at this juncture of the season, even one off-game by the fast-developing Manning, is likely to concern Coughlin. New York was also 5-2 last season and faced weak opponents in Chicago and Arizona in their next two games. The Giants lost both contests, prompting the change from struggling veteran Kurt Warner to Manning as the starter, and also dropped the next six before Manning led them to a victory over Dallas in the season finale.
San Francisco is surrendering a league-high 31.7 points per game and is second-to-last in the NFL with 213.7 yards allowed per game. The 49ers, however, are a better team at home, going 2-2 at Monster Park this season. Plus, the Giants have lost six in a row to the 49ers and 11 of their last 13 in San Francisco.
If Coughlin needs any other compelling reasons to show his team why it shouldn’t be overconfident, he can look to the 49ers’ stunning home upset of first-place Tampa Bay last week. San Francisco was facing the league’s top-ranked defense and used fourth-stringer Cody Pickett at quarterback, but knocked off the Bucs 15-10.
“It’s two different years and two different teams,” Coughlin said of last season’s Giants compared to this year’s. “After yesterday’s game, I feel very good about where we are. But every week is a new week in this league, and every team can beat every other team. You have to go back to basics, keep things in perspective and keep away from the highs and lows.
“If you stub your toe and don’t follow that direction, you’re going to have problems in this league.”
The Giants are averaging a league-best 29.9 points per game, but are 0-2 on the road this season. Manning is looking for his first career road win in five tries.
Still, this San Francisco club is far less formidable than the one that staged the second-biggest comeback in playoff history for a 39-38 win over New York in a 2003 NFC wild-card game, the teams’ last meeting.
The Niners snapped a five-game losing streak last week despite gaining only 208 yards of offense, including 101 rushing from Kevan Barlow.
Joe Nedney kicked five field goals, including a 28-yarder with 1:56 left to cap the decisive drive, and Pickett performed admirably in the final 11 minutes in place of Ken Dorsey.
Dorsey started in place of top overall draft pick Smith, who was inactive with strained knee ligaments, and was 7-of-18 for 40 yards before spraining his ankle in the fourth quarter. Pickett came in and marched the Niners 42 yards in 11 plays to set up Nedney’s last field goal.
San Francisco’s opening-day starter Tim Rattay was traded to the Buccaneers, leaving Pickett as the Niners’ fourth starting QB in five games.
“Cody has been here,” coach Mike Nolan said. “The guys know him. They like him. They know what he stands for. He has strengths that are different from the other guys.”
STANDINGS: Giants - 1st place, NFC East. 49ers - 3rd place (tied), NFC West.
GIANTS LEADERS: Offense - Manning, 1,560 passing yards and 13 passing TDs; Barber, 689 rushing yards and 5 rushing TDs; Plaxico Burress, 40 receptions, 577 receiving yards and 5 receiving TDs. Defense - Michael Strahan, 6 1/2 sacks; Antonio Pierce and Shaun Williams, 2 INTs.
49ERS LEADERS: Offense - Smith, 200 passing yards; Barlow, 420 rushing yards and 2 rushing TDs; Brandon Lloyd, 21 receptions, 387 receiving yards and 3 receiving TDs. Defense - Bryant Young, 8 sacks; Tony Parrish, 2 INTs.
GIANTS TEAM RANK: Rushing Offense - 130.4 yards per game (7th in NFL); Passing Offense - 209.4 ypg (17th); Total Offense - 339.8 ypg (13th). Rushing Defense - 104.9 ypg (11th); Passing Defense - 266.0 ypg (30th); Total Defense - 370.9 ypg (30th).
49ERS TEAM RANK: Rushing Offense - 99.7 yards per game (21st); Passing Offense - 114.0 ypg (31st); Total Offense - 213.7 ypg (31st). Rushing Defense - 112.6 ypg (18th); Passing Defense - 314.7 ypg (32nd); Total Defense - 427.3 ypg (32nd).
LAST MEETING: Jan. 5, 2003; 49ers, 39-38. At San Francisco, the 49ers erased a 38-14 second-half deficit, as Jeff Garcia threw the winning 13-yard TD pass to Tai Streets with 1:00 left. New York still had a chance to win with six seconds left, but a botched snap on a 41-yard field-goal attempt by Matt Bryant ended the Giants’ hopes.
STREAKS AND NOTES: Giants - Manning is second in the NFC and seventh in the NFL with a 94.5 passer rating. He has a TD pass in eight consecutive games, tied for the longest active streak in the league. … Barber needs two TDs to join Frank Gifford (78) and Joe Morrison (65) as the only Giants with 60. … DE Strahan has 124 1/2 sacks and needs 2 1/2 to pass Derrick Thomas for 10th place all-time. 49ers - Barlow became the first player to rush for 100 yards against the Bucs this season. … DE Young is tied for the NFL lead with eight sacks and needs two for the third 10-sack season of his 12-year career. … The Niners are eighth-best in the league with 3.8 yards allowed per carry.
ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Giants - 1-2 on the road; 49ers - 2-2 at home.
INJURIES: Giants - OUT: CB William Peterson (back). QUESTIONABLE: LB Carlos Emmons (pectoral); RB Brandon Jacobs (quadricep); DE Justin Tuck (ankle); WR David Tyree (elbow). PROBABLE: S Williams (hamstring). 49ers - OUT: LB Saleem Rasheed (knee). DOUBTFUL: RB Maurice Hicks (knee); T Jonas Jennings (shoulder); CB Ahmed Plummer (ankle). QUESTIONABLE: WR Otis Amey (ankle); WR Arnaz Battle (knee); RB Chris Hetherington (hamstring); RB Terry Jackson (hip/knee); C Jeremy Newberry (knee/ankle); QB Smith (knee) PROBABLE: QB Dorsey (ankle).
