49ers @ Giants live blog: Fourth quarter

East Rutherford, NJ — This is the live blog for the fourth quarter of the 49ers’ Week 11 game against the Giants. I will update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box.

12:27 Frank Gore gains four yards on a counter run on first down, and then Greg Roman calls back-to-back deep passes, first to Vernon Davis, then to Brandon Lloyd. Kaepernick overthrows both passes. How about another counter run on second down? Why not?

12:28 Odell Beckham makes a fair catch at the Giants’ 12.

12:30 The 49ers’ first-team offense still hasn’t scored a TD in the fourth quarter this season.

12:35 Manning takes a hit from Aaron Lynch as he throws a pass blindly to Chris Culliver. Interception No.4. Niners’ ball at their 21.

12:38 Joe Staley is injured during a two-yard first-down counter run to the left by Frank Gore.

12:39 Staley walks off the field sans limp. He comes back one play later.

12:43 Kaepernick scrambles out of the pocket and throws to Crabtree, who drops a first-down catch on third-and-4 from the 49ers’ 39.

12:44 Beckham returns the punt 25 yards to the Giants’ 35. 6:18 left in the fourth quarter. The 49ers can’t put away a bad team. This game shouldn’t be close.

12:48 Manning completes a 26-yard pass to Rueben Randle on third-and-12 from the Giants’ 33. Eric Reid was double-covering Beckham near the sideline and Randle was wide open over the middle.

12:51 Manning throws a deep pass to Beckham who jumps and catches the ball over Perrish Cox. Giants’ ball at the 49ers’ 4-yard line. Are you kidding me? Jim Harbaugh throws the little red hanky to challenge the play. Looks like a catch to me. Beckham’s rear end lands in bounds.

12:54 The officials confirm their ruling. First-and-goal at the 4.

12:56 Manning throws back-to-back incomplete passes on first-and-goal and second-and-goal. Then he calls a timeout to avoid a delay penalty on third-and-goal.

12:57 Manning throws a jump ball to Larry Donnell and he drops it. Fourth-and-goal.

12:58 Dontae Johnson tips Manning’s pass to Chris Borland and he picks it off at the Niners’ 2. Horrible play selection and execution inside the 5-yard line by the Giants.

1:04 Carlos Hyde gains 1 yard on a weak lead run to the left on first down. Gore gains 2 yards on a G lead run to the right on second down. Third-and-7 from the Niners’ 27 after the two-minute warning.

1:06 Kaepernick runs a QB sweep to the right and gains only 5. Fourth-and-2 with 1:36 left.

1:07 Beckham returns the punt 6 yards to the Giants’ 15. They have no more timeouts.

1:09 Aldon Smith hits Manning as Manning throws the ball away on third-and-6.

1:10 Bethea breaks up a pass intended for Beckham on fourth down. Game over. Stay tuned for grades.

This article has 196 Comments

  1. That was a hard pass and almost had it. But what’s up with VD? What happened to running him up the seam?

  2. Borland is PHENOMINAL. He’s a starter from here on out. He shoots gap, no waiting and catching. I LOVE IT. That’s how that position is played. You see run you fly through the gap

  3. On the radio, they say, the Brooks is sitting on the bench with his helmet off. Lynch and Smith are in.

  4. If the niners lose this game, Roman should be given his walking papers before they get to the plane. 16 pts against the worst run defense in the NFL is ridiculous. We consistently go to shotgun formations when we should be pounding them.

    1. I agree but there 6 points that we left out there. We aren’t executing. Dropped balls and fumbles.

  5. Fourth quarter offense is abysmal!!! No 4th qrt TD’s since last year’s wildcard game vs Green Bay

    1. Ahem…. cough.cough. T-R-O-L-L. If you are a fan you love all the players. That’s what you keep telling me.

    1. Roman has to be fired. The defense give him 4 turnovers and he comes up with 16 points… a trained monkey could come up with 16 points of 4 turnovers.

  6. I have no idea what to think of this. Roman seemed to be having a pretty good game right around the middle of the third quarter, but since then, he has completely sh*t the bed. It’s called “rhythm” and it’s badly needed.

    Oh, by the way, Randle having a career day.

  7. Why throw the flag when we need TOs at the end of the game. JH didn’t even wait to see the replay?!

  8. Hard to believe that Eli can throw 4 INT’ and still be in position to win this game – sheesh!
    Borland! Borland! Borland!

      1. Prime

        How many times is he gonna be okay with winning a one possession game? How many times is he gonna waste an obvious challenge? The guy lacks killer instinct and lacks composure (okay if you’re the rookie on the knitting line, not okay if you’re an NFL HC).

        Harbaugh needs to pull a “John” and fire Roman like John did with Cam Cameron.

  9. Wow, let me see power formation run 8 yrds. Ok since that works we should run shotgun because they wont expect that.

  10. This game is depressing- how can the niners get FIVE INTERCEPTIONS- and only be up by 6???

    Especially when Gore is averaging over 5 yards a carry. Roman could literally have been calling running plays EVERY play and they would be up more than 6.

    Roman is the weakest of all weak links.

    1. Exactly. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If we had a trained Monkey calling the plays they could put up 16 points, if given 5 turnovers by the defense.

    2. Yep, Big Suede. You and me are pretty much of one mind on the Niners. The team is so talented, but Roman is horrific. He doesn’t get the passing game and he has no playcalling rhythm.

      1. I trust Balke over everyone – Borland and Lynch are GREAT pickups. The niners future looks bright. Balke should be told to find a new coaching staff and trust him to figure it out,

        Roman is a mess….. Harbaugh never knows when to challenge calls (and i think players are starting to block him out) If the niners could find another offensive head coach and just throw a ton of money at Fangio to be an “associate head coach” or whatever, I think that will be a huge improvement.

        1. I wonder if someone made a bunch of Fire Roman tees and handed them out in the parking lot how many fans would wear them.
          On his best play calling days hes average on his bad days he is terrible.

        2. I’d like to keep Fangio too, but they think highly of Coach Don-Don and I think he would be a capable replacement due to his experience and having learned what works for the current players under Fangio. I don’t want Harbs too leave, but if they kept Rathman, Leavitt, Tomsula, and Donatello I think they would survive.

          1. The only thing the niners CAN’T do is hire a defensive coach to be the head coach. The NFL is all about offense and offenses need to stay consistent year to year. Defensive coordinators can change every year and it doesnt matter- But the offense needs consistency.

            I am pretty sure Harbs wants out- there is just too much smoke to not think Harbaugh wants another challenge.

  11. The passing game sucks because we are getting ZERO from a pro bowl tight end that’s supposed to be able to stretch the field and was already a bad route runner before this season. Now he doesn’t even finish his routes. He doesn’t even try to get open. Watch the all-22 film. VD is out there jogging around.

  12. You know, the reason this game was so close is totally the D’s fault:
    5 interceptions and no points.

  13. The other thing that made no sense was not having Lynch and Aldon Smith starting from the beginning- ALL OF US knew that was a winning combo- but Fangio waited till the second quarter for Smith to play- WHY?

    Shocker of Shockers- when Lynch and Smith played together- the giants didnt score.

    Just stupid.

    1. They are probably easing Smith back into it. I would doubt he is in game shape yet after only 1 week of practice.

      1. He looked pretty good throughout the game- he was in on the last plays. I dont buy it- Smith and Lynch are the outside linebackers- leave the fat, out of shape, Ahmad Brooks on the sidelines with a hot dog.

        1. Come on maaaaan!!! Just last week he was a hero! Let Brooks play on base downs to set the edge against the run and let the young boys get after the QB.

  14. Now we need Lions to beat Cardinals, and a Philly win over GB we will be right back in the thick of it.

  15. I called the Borland (T-rex) game saver…..Fist bump to myself…..BorLAND is the real deal……
    Webster Dictionary says:
    Football instincts: See Borland

  16. Happy with the win but the offense should be embarras with that performance especially in the second half again!

  17. Sheesh ! ..

    Some of you guys would gripe about a free lunch !!

    Niners win … Alex beats the SeaChickens …

    Happy Days, fellas !!

    Who cares what the final score was ?
    All that matters is …

    WHO … gets the “W” ??

  18. Good win to get but we have to be able to score more then 16 points off of 5 turnovers.

    1. I agree. If the Giants would have scored I would not have been mad at the defense. Our offense is still terrible.

    2. 12 games in a row (going back to last season) the offense fails to score a 4th QTR TD.

      Game plans seem to be working. The O clicks in the first half. Then splat! There is something goofy with offensive game .

      Still a good day with the W. The pass rush is SCARY with Aldon + Lynch. Tank got some quality snaps today too.

      1. correction in [ ] … There is something goofy with offensive [system at the ends of games]. I think its more on the HC then the OC.

    3. Won’t be any tears shed around this house when Crabtree is playing for a new team next year.

  19. Looks like the Saints have folded after their loss to us. Shows the character of the team.

  20. It was an ugly win but you take it…….Sort of like when you were a single young dude. You were expecting to get lucky at a bar with the hottest chick there, but instead you woke up next day with some stanky ho……You still were satisfied.

    1. Crabs ..
      I can’t tell you what images your “descriptive”
      description conjures up …
      but ..

      Welcome back !

      (you were missed)

      1. MWN – I’m not going anywhere bro, thanks though….Wish you could share those images lol……Was she coyote Material? I’ve been there ;)

        1. Crabs ..
          Lately, (I think) you were MIA for awhile ..
          but to answer yer question ..

          yeah .. spent some time in the military
          (back in the 60’s) .. and after a few
          hard core liberties … I’ve been there, as well.. lol

          1. MWN – Thanks for your service….Yes I was MIA….We sold our house 3 wks ago and bought home in Murrieta Ca which is about 45 mi north of S.D.
            Good win today….Need Lions to rally vs Ari now.

    1. Heard my heartbeat on this game, similar to game 7 with the Giants. We have so much talent on the offensive side but little to show for it. Thanks Defense

  21. We woooooooon!!!

    We have issues. 5 picks and win by 6.

    Thanks A.Smith ……for making the defense better and beating the seagull…….

  22. Well that was a real C- effort. Five pics, 100+ yards on the ground, and a stinking 6 point win. This kind of effort will not win games against good teams or playoff games. Kaep was pretty much Krapernick today. Looks like Marcus Martin needs some remedial lessons on the Shotgun/Pistol snap too. A win is great, but this was a very troubled win.

    1. These types of games by Kaep make me sad because it’s not a step forward or backward, it’s the same. There’s not much else to say. That is not a good defense, and we were handed 4 Turnovers, and still no TD drive in the 4th quarter. That had more to do with holding onto the lead but at the same time it’s just depressing to watch the Niner Offense unless you are big Kaep fan and just the fact that he’s under center makes you happy.
      I’d like to see a little more command, where he spots something in the Defense and exploits it.
      Forget Smith, we should go back to old man Shuan Hill who was 20/26 and beat the Broncos!

        1. Fan ..

          Guess what ?

          They weren’t “handed” anything !
          out defense .. went out and “earned” those INTs

          What game were you watching ?

          1. The defense earned those turnovers and the offense does absolutely nothing. The Giants were horrible and they had a chance to take the lead in the 4th quarter. What more is there to say about the 2014 offense?

      1. Fan77,
        I’m a big CK fan. But that doesn’t mean that I will withhold criticism when it’s due. He was very “choppy” today, i.e. sometimes good, and sometimes bad.

        He has yet to turn the corner by making a significant and dramatic improvement to his game. But calling for any QB that has a good day (such as S.Hill) to take over for CK is psychotic!
        Look at your short list.
        Last week you wanted Mark Sanchez. This week you want Shaun Hill. I’m sure you will be trying a new flavor next week – any ideas?

        I was not happy with CK’ overall work today, but the pass/catch/run to Crabtree was the game winner. I’m riding Kap until the 49ers say “no mas.”
        Having said that, we have to score TD’ in the redzone if we are going to make noise in the playoffs. Averaging below 20 points a game will come back to haunt us.

        1. AES,
          I was being sarcastic about Shaun Hill and Mark Sanchez. They are back-ups for a reason. However, Kaep’s lack of command of the offense as a whole is very concerning. He’s had planty of games, and veterans all around. Something is not clicking and since he’s a QB, it falls on him.
          My take is that he’s not grasping the nuances so it limits the things what the offense can do on a structured level. So everything falls to random, unpredictable plays.

          1. Fan77,
            The time he called a time out was because there was confusion in the backfield. That certainly is not an indictment on Kap.
            I haven’t seen a penalty due to the play clock running out in some time.
            Not sure what you mean by Kaep’s lack of command, can you please explain?

            1. CK played fine today. No turnovers which is a bonus. However without the defense CK would have been left for dead. He cannot shoulder the load and simply hasn’t shown he can do it late in games.
              People putting the offenses woes on Roman and Harbaugh have no clue and probably were following the game on radio and didn’t even watch, or even better, getting groceries!
              The players on offense failed to execute.

  23. 49ers offense still looks like trash but the defense looks dominant with Aldon out there again. After the Giants first possession and he came back in, was absolute dominance.

  24. Mixed feelings about the AZ-DET game. It would be nice to start an epic AZ collapse… but DET is a wildcard competitor (if Green Bay wins the NFC north) that has no NFC losses.

    1. The only thing that matters is getting the invitation to the dance and then you take your chances because anything can happen. With the Seattle loss and our own win the Cards losing would benefit us more.

  25. Honestly… out of the 32 teams in this league I would guess at least 3/4ths of them are better than our offensive unit… especially when considering the number of opportunities the Defense gives them.

  26. The defense does need to answer for giving up far too many third and longs today. Part of what made the game excruciating was letting drives continue that should have been punts.

  27. Offense played tough today.
    1 couglin is always tough vs our offense.
    2 they didn’t stay on the east this year. That’s a bigger deal than you’d think.
    3 ran the ball well, but NY’s pass defense was good today.

    I’m not going to knock the coaches, o-line or qb this game. I’m going to give NY some credit. They were playing for their lives, and it’s an east coast game. Tough win and I’ll take it. Those build character and show these guys haven’t mailed it in. I also think it’s our toughest game this month.
    Happy with the win. Although it was stressful.
    Now we can sit back and watch help happen for us today. No matter which team you think will help in the late games. After this win all three will help either way. Good day!

    1. Sadly this reminds me of how our offense played vs the bears with the exception of the turnovers.
      Maybe the Niners need to stop watching the film go back to the basics.

  28. Ya just know that Grant is going to absolutely flambe Rombaugh for not being able to convert the turnovers into more points.

        1. When playing one of the worst defenses in the NFL and given 5 turnovers, you should be able to put up more than 16 pts. I do not lay this all on Roman but when he had Alex smith and a younger Gore and what was thought be one of the best offensive lines in football. His offense sucked in the red zone. Now that he has Kap, Gore, Bolden, and Crabtree… his offense sucks in the redzone. Oh yeah and how is Alex doing in the red zone now that he doesnt have Roman calling his play?

          Kaps accuracy doesn’t help much but no matter who Roman has, his offense has sucked in the red zone. It hasnt been below average, its been bottom of the barrel. Its time to recognize he is the common denominator.

      1. I’m just lucky to post something that doesn’t have at least 3 or more typos in it.

  29. Something bad brewing in Harbaughland. If it wasn’t before, it is now. He looked mighty miffed during the postgame presser, and during questions about Brooks, he became more defensive than ever, and then stressed that he has always wanted Brooks on the team.

    Didn’t it come out that Baalke wanted to trade Brooks, and that Fangio said that was flat out wrong? I believe Harbaugh thinks Baalke is messing with the roster too much. Brooks will be dealt.

  30. It appears that the defense belongs to one franchise. The offensive side belongs another franchise in a completely separate league, and, marginal league at that.

  31. a win is a win. BTW grant is the one who stated AS was not making any difference in the game early in the 2nd qtr. how many plays was Aldon in for prior to that statement. 4-5?

    Grant also stated late in the 3rd qtr when it was a 1 score game the Giants packed it in. SMH

  32. The fact that the seahawks have to play the cardinals 4 days before we play them makes me happy. But our offense makes me so frustrated. We have to score touchdowns. This is beyond ridiculous now

  33. Well, it was ugly on offense, but the D came up huge again this week.

    Biggest beneficiary of Aldon Smith returning? Aaron Lynch. He was dominant today, getting lots of 1-on-1s. Not sure if Brooks was injured or not, but even if he’s healthy he should be the #3 OLB from here out.

    I thought Dial was much improved at NT from last week, and Ray McDonald had a big game too.

    But game ball goes to Borland. He keeps getting better each week. And how great was it to see the two rookies, Johnson and Borland, come up big on the 4th and goal to prevent the Giants go ahead score?!

    Speaking of Johnson, I thought he was excellent when on the field today. He definitely looks a keeper. The secondary was pretty good in general, though Cox gave up a few plays. He started the season on fire, but he’s started to cool some the past few weeks. Culliver has looked the better CB the past couple of games.

    Bethea had another monster game and really should make the pro bowl this year. He was instrumental, along with McDonald, in stopping the 4th and short Jennings run after the aborted 49ers field goal. And his play in coverage was excellent once again. Reid was also much improved.

    On offense, not really sure what to say. Painful. Kaep was off target on a number of throws. And the receivers really struggled to create any separation. Crabtree had the big TD play, but other than that I thought he was pretty rubbish again. Another drop for what would have been a drive extending first down, and also a drop in the red zone early in the game. Some will say the throw was behind him, but it was where it needed to be with the safety coming across. A play a top line receiver needs to make. Vernon Davis was invisible again as well, though at least they did take a couple of deep shots to him.

    The running game was solid without being spectacular. It was certainly good enough to have put more points on the board if they’d had a more competent passing game.

    All in all a tough win on the road built on another very strong defensive outing.

    1. “On offense, not really sure what to say. Painful. ”

      And embarrassing!

      Scooter, I will like to add that Culliver had a very good game, too. Good call on Mcdonald. I think he had a great game and it seems like that domestic violence issue had some affect on his play prior to this game.

    2. Scooter,
      I’m a little queasy about our offense. Our D has been very good and will only get better with the return of Aldon the emergence of Borland, and the continued improvement by A.Lynch.

      The offense has been very choppy during games. Still no continuity in the passing game which worsens in the redzone. CK did not make any mistakes, but he also failed to capitalize on a couple of opportunities by locking on receivers. I like that he had the presence of mind to throw the away instead of forcing it – so at this point I’d rather have Kap improve incrementally than take a step back.

      There were a few small improvements on the O-line with pass blocking today and Marcus Martin is securing the Center spot for years to come.

      1. Safe to say that this is our best Rookie crop in a while.
        C.Borland
        A.Lynch
        C.Hyde
        J.Ward (although now out)
        M.Martin
        B.Ellington
        D.Johnson

        1. Sure is looking that way, AES.

          And we’ll get to see some of the other guys next year, too. I’m particularly keen to see how Brandon Thomas and Trey Millard go. Also Acker and Reaser – if those guys can be solid depth players the CB spot will look pretty set for a while, assuming the 49ers bring back at least one of Culliver or Cox next year.

  34. the “brains” of the offense (harbaugh, roman, and kaepernick) were way too concerned with getting the ball to crab and vernon.

    this season crab & vernon have been outplayed by johnson & carrier given the opportunities afforded.

  35. Manning doesn’t throw 5 ints without pressure and A Smith. GAME CHANGER. And the more I see of Borland the more I am loving this kid. Still worried on coverage but if they get pressure like they did today it won’t worry me as much.

    1. Aldon is a special player. He controlled that LOS. Suddenly everyone looked good. Borland is amazing. He’s a very smart player and somehow is always at the right place at the right time, except for the Denver game. He cost us that game. Well — not really.

  36. Scooter, nice analysis. Don’t forget the freak Gore fumble on the first drive. They were on their way to a score. I think Roman had a good game plan until about early/middle fourth quarter. In the first half, I thought most of the runs were to the right versus to the left last game. He involved Hyde more, including that sweep to the right. And on third and long, Kaep had short outlets to throw to. (Not sure he had these last game. If he did, he started using them today.) Kaep also seemed to throw the ball away more to avoid sacks. The offense was doing fine until early/mid fourth quarter when, at 16-10 and in need of just 3 points to keep the Giants out of reach, they started throwing for the bomb. That almost ruined it for us. Thank God for Aldon’s return and more pressure on Manning.

    1. I respectfully disagree, at that point they already had 3 turnovers and put up only 16. pts. My thinking is this, if we had the Raiders offense and only put 16 points with 5 turnovers I would say we played like crap offensively. So I think the same must be said with the niners offense.

      1. Shoupbj, I don’t think we disagree that much. I wanted to comment about your earlier posts about Roman, but thought I’d just be piling on. Also, I admit to not understanding the game the way I would like, and sometimes think I just expect too much of Roman, especially given the problems with the oline. Having said that, I think the fact we can move the ball well within the 20s yet are not more more productive in the red zone, has to reflect on the offensive coordinator. Also, getting away from the run-orientation in certain games this season, has been on him.

        1. True, I should not have said the offense was doing fine before the early/mid fourth quarter. They were moving the ball and majorly dominating time of possession, which as you know with our defense is enough to win most games.

        2. George, I can see where your coming from in regards to that.

          The time of possession was good and we were running effectively early on so I would agree that the start was promising. I guess what I don’t understand is why we stop calling power formation runs and go to all these shotgun formations and what not when certain plays are clearly working.

  37. I’m dumbfounded by the lack of offense we have. It’s so bad winning no longer covers it up, I don’t even know where to start to even begin to improve it by next year. Our defense is full of a bunch of patchwork and still dominates. How is our offense so stagnant? So frustrating.

  38. The Aldon/Lynch sandwich effect was extremely effective.
    Eli was hearing footsteps……I’m so sick of Deion Sanders still saying “I believe in Eli.”

  39. Sickening zebra fact:
    They played less games back then but in 1937 the Detroit Lions had a total of 19 penalties in their ENTIRE season.
    Through only 9 games this year, the Niners had 68 enforced penalties.
    These nitwit refs are so freaking flag-happy these days, it makes me wanna puke!

  40. Touch and ugly win, but a W is a W and it won’t matter much if the Niners make it into late December and early January play.

    Heard about a DEA investigation. What is that about?

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