Christian McCaffrey totaled 173 yards and had a pair of touchdowns, Mac Jones threw for a pair of first-half scores and the San Francisco 49ers earned a 34-24 victory over the New York Giants Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, N.J.
McCaffrey gained 106 yards on the ground after being held to a season-low 25 in last week’s 26-15 loss at Houston as the 49ers (6-3) rushed for 159 yards and matched their win total from last season. He also had five receptions for 67 yards.
McCaffrey caught a 5-yard touchdown to tie the game in the first quarter and added a 3-yard run to give the 49ers a 34-17 lead with 4:13 remaining. He set up his second score with a 39-yard catch.
It was the 16th game McCaffrey had at least one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown, breaking a tie with Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk for the most in NFL history. McCaffrey had two TDs for the second time this season.
Jones, who completed his first 14 passes, improved to 5-2 in Brock Purdy’s absence. He hit 19 of 24 passes for 235 yards and threw TDs to McCaffrey and Jauan Jennings in the first half.
Eddy Pineiro kicked a pair of field goals to improve to 19-for-19 this season and Brian Robinson Jr. ran for an 18-yard TD early in the fourth quarter before McCaffrey’s second score.
The Giants (2-7) dropped their third straight since beating the Philadelphia Eagles Oct. 9 at home.
Rookie Jaxson Dart finished 24 of 33 for 191 yards, including a 15-yard TD to Theo Johnson on New York’s opening drive and a 24-yard TD to Gunner Olszewski with 1:21 left. Dart also scored on a six-yard run with 7:52 remaining to get the Giants within 27-17, marking his fifth game with both a rushing and passing TD.
After Johnson dove into the end zone after avoiding going out of bounds with 10:50 left in the first quarter, the 49ers took a 14-7 lead on their next two drives by converting third downs inside the red zone.
McCaffrey was wide open for the tying touchdown on third-and-3, then Jennings dove into the end zone untouched for his TD with 13:08 remaining in the first half. Pineiro increased the lead to 17-7 with 1:55 to go. The Giants missed a golden chance to score when Graham Gano missed a 45-yard field goal with 19 seconds left.
Robinson and McCaffrey scored in the fourth for a 34-17 lead and the Giants were within 34-24 after Dart’s longest pass of the contest.
–Field Level Media
