The 49ers are coming off a horrendous performance in a Week 8 loss to the Houston Texans, and their next game could not come soon enough after experiencing a disappointing 26-15 loss on the road.
Now, the attention swings to the next game on their schedule: Sunday against the New York Giants (2-6) at MetLife Stadium.
“I’m still sick about it, so I can’t wait to get to New York on Sunday,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “49ers Game Plan,” which debuts Friday at 9 p.m. PT. “I can’t wait to get this bad taste out of our mouth. We don’t play very well versus Houston. And that was very frustrating and disappointing.
“There’s only one thing you can do about that, and it takes all week to wait, and you only get three and a half hours to fix it.”
Here are five players the 49ers need to step up to help get the team back on track:
S Malik Mustapha
The rust should be nearly removed for second-year safety Malik Mustapha, who is all the way back into a full-time role on defense.
Now, he needs to make the kinds of plays that led to him locking down a starting job as a rookie in the first place.
Mustapha underwent surgery in January to reattach a graft of the ACL from a previous surgery. He was out of action until Week 6. He played on a limited basis in his first game back. Mustapha took most of the snaps in the next game. Last week in Houston, he played all 80 snaps and had 11 tackles.
Mustapha will be tested on Sunday against rookie Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart. He must do his part to keep the defensive backfield on the same page to avoid the mistakes that plagued the team last week against the Texans.
C Matt Hennessy
Matt Hennessy, the backup center, will get his second start in a row for injured starter Jake Brendel. The 49ers’ run game should have some chances for success against the Giants, whose defense allowed an average of 5.7 yards per opponent rushing attempt through the first eight games.
The 49ers will try to run the ball with Christian McCaffrey between the tackles. Hennessy will play a big role in those plans. He has to carry out his job physically, of course. But his main job is to ensure everyone on the line is on the same page to avoid costly missed assignments that ruin plays.
LB Dee Winters
Now, Dee Winters is the old veteran in the middle of the 49ers’ defense.
All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner is out for the season, so Winters must take on more of a leadership role to help new middle linebacker Tatum Bethune in his increased role.
Winters is playing well. He leads the 49ers with 54 tackles on the season, including four behind the line of scrimmage, and has also come through with three passes defensed.
Winters’ reactive skills, speed and tackling will be tested against Dart’s scrambling. The Giants’ quarterback is the team’s leading active rusher with 195 yards and four touchdowns on the season.
DE Keion White
The 49ers are thin along the defensive line, and Keion White is the newcomer who will have an opportunity to make an immediate impact.
White comes to the 49ers, along with a seventh-round draft pick, from the New England Patriots. The 49ers sent a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft in return.
The 49ers need some semblance of an outside pass rush, and that is why White was brought to Santa Clara.
Bryce Huff will not play due to a hamstring injury, and Yetur Gross-Matos is not expected to suit up, either. Also, Sam Okuayinonu is hobbled with an ankle injury.
White has good size (6-foot-5, 285 pounds) and quickness. The 49ers will keep it simple for him on Sunday: See quarterback, get quarterback.
QB Mac Jones
Mac Jones has done a fine job in his six starts in place of Brock Purdy, and the backup quarterback will get one more start on Sunday. The 49ers hope Purdy will be back next week.
So this is a big one for Jones, as he aims to do his part to return the 49ers to three games over .500. The 49ers will exit this Week 9 game with either a 6-3 record or 5-4. That is a big difference at this stage in the season with a big one looming in Week 10 against the L.A. Rams.
Jones must be sharp with his pre-snap reads to get the ball out quickly and into the hands of the 49ers’ playmakers. To slow down the Giants’ pass rush, San Francisco could try to hit some big plays on first downs.
When the opportunities are there, Jones must deliver.
Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
