If there was one game on the New York Giants’ 2023 schedule that most people had chalked up as a loss before the season began, their visit to play the San Francisco 49ers, four days after playing in Arizona, was it. The 49ers are legitimate Super Bowl contenders, with numerous elite players on both sides of the ball and an innovative offense-minded head coach.
To make matters worse, the Giants came to the Bay Area as the walking wounded, with four key starting players sidelined (Andrew Thomas, Saquon Barkley, Ben Bredeson, Azeez Ojulari). It’s not like the Giants were world-beaters before the injuries either, with a stirring second half comeback against possibly the worst team in the NFL only partly taking the sting away from the horrid six quarters of football that preceded it.