Ferrell wrecked New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart with a thunderous hit from the backside in the second quarter. It was the type of relentless hustle play the 49ers will need much more of if they’re to stabilize their defense against better competition moving forward.
“The first thing I said was, ‘Cold tub — enjoy it, please,’” Ferrell said of his on-field words to Dart after the pulverization.
In the second half, defensive end Sam Okuayinonu — who overcame a painful ankle injury that landed him on the injury cart last week — ripped around right tackle for the second 49ers’ sack.
But just as Okuayinonu excitedly explained how he’d gotten his ankle prepared to deliver on Sunday, rookie Mykel Williams limped past his locker. His ginger pace was a reminder of the 49ers’ mind-numbing attrition up front. They’ve now received two bad doses of news
after adding Ferrell and White last week: On top of Williams’ injury, productive pass rusher Yetur Gross-Matos re-aggravated a hamstring injury at Thursday’s practice and has since landed on injured reserve.
So it seems that the 49ers, especially because of defensive shakiness that marred both the start and end of this win against the Giants, will have to further fortify their unit.
Tight end George Kittle, again a key part of another rumbling 49ers’ rushing effort (they carried 39 times for 159 yards), illustrated the dynamic simply.
“I think we have a very good offense with the potential to be a great offense,” Kittle said. “As an offense, we’re very connected. But our offense needs to score a lot of points week in and week out, because that’s just how it is. We have a young defense with our two best players out and injuries galore. Luckily, our offense has been able to continue to score points.”
Sunday’s 34-point output was a season-high for the 49ers, but it came in large part because the Giants are pathetic defensively. New York had allowed not one but two 100-yard rushers to the Philadelphia Eagles the week prior and again allowed two running backs to waltz all over them against the 49ers.
Christian McCaffrey (106 rushing yards) and Brian Robinson (53 rushing yards) combined for a second-half touchdown drive that featured eight straight effective runs.
“You’re like, ‘Man, can we do it again and get away with it?’ —maybe we should play-action or something off of it,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “No, screw it, we’ll just keep running it.”
Unfortunately for the 49ers, they can’t play New York’s last-place run defense every week. Controlling the game offensively won’t be nearly as easy when the division rival Rams come into Levi’s Stadium next Sunday.
More firepower could come from the Cincinnati Bengals (Glazer reported they’re willing to move star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson), the Miami Dolphins (defensive end Jaelan Phillips is up for grabs) or maybe even one of the New York teams.
Fittingly, the 49ers’ used the space right next to the Jets’ locker room at MetLife Stadium for this game. Perhaps they could’ve helped Jets edge rusher Will McDonald IV pack his bags, or maybe they could’ve even taken Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux on the plane with them back to the Bay Area.
“That s—’s bad, man,” Thibodeaux said of the Giants’ putrid performance in their locker room. “That’s s—’s real bad.”
All kidding aside (for the record: the 49ers left MetLife without making a trade), it’s very possible that Shanahan’s team has a whole lot more ammo at its disposal when next Sunday’s kickoff against L.A. rolls around.
For one, edge rusher Bryce Huff is expected to return following a two-week absence due to a hamstring injury. Purdy will also have a real chance to be back, especially because the 49ers will be back on natural grass. MetLife’s infamous artificial turf, which saw 49ers D-linemen Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas tear ACLs on consecutive plays in 2020, wasn’t likely to host Purdy’s return from turf toe — even if the stadium did swap playing surfaces in 2023.
If Huff, Purdy, and starting left guard Ben Bartch are back (Spencer Burford raised the profile of that position by taking over for rookie Connor Colby on Sunday), the 49ers will have at least three new starters in next week’s lineup — plus whomever they may acquire before Tuesday’s deadline.
After Sunday’s win, Shanahan remained coy about the 49ers’ intentions.
“It’s been the exact same [approach], regardless of our record,” he said. “We’ve been looking at it the exact same all year, so nothing changes based off today.”
The 49ers have no incentive to tip their hand, of course, and the bigger-picture setup of parity — and their success at 6-3 even through a hailstorm of injury adversity — certainly points in the direction of pursuing more reinforcements.
Yes, Sunday was a rather unremarkable win against an overmatched opponent. But it was also a prelude to what should be a captivating week, which’ll end with that showdown against the Rams.
