The New York Giants (2-6) host the San Francisco 49ers (5-3) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday afternoon in a matchup between two longtime NFC rivals.
Here are six things to know before Sunday’s Week 9 kickoff.
The series
Sunday marks the 36th regular-season meeting between the Giants and 49ers, dating back to 1952. San Francisco leads the series, 18-17, and has won three of the last four. The teams have met eight times in the postseason, with each team winning four times.
The clubs last met in Week 3 of the 2023 season in San Francisco. The Giants’ last victory over the 49ers came in 2018, when they defeated them, 27-23, at Levi’s Stadium.
Giants will wear their Legacy duds
The Giants will wear their classic 1980s-era blue uniform and “rebrand” the stadium to include their classic helmet design at midfield. They will also install the vintage red end zones with “GIANTS” in block lettering. The Vintage White and Legacy uniforms are an homage to the 1980s, when the franchise was an elite NFL power and won Super Bowl XXI after the 1986 season. The Giants will wear their “Vintage White” color rush uniforms for their Week 10 game at Chicago and Week 11 game at home against Green Bay.
Giants at the half-pole…
The Giants have opened the season at 2-6, or worse, for the eighth time in the past nine years. They are currently last in the NFC East and 15th out of 16 teams in the NFC. They currently hold the sixth overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft. Their two victories have come at home versus two winning teams (The Los Angeles Chargers and the Philadelphia Eagles). Their six defeats have come at the hands of each of their division rivals (Dallas, Philadelphia, and Washington), Kansas City, New Orleans, and Denver. They are averaging 21.6 points per game and allowing 26.9.
Niners so far…
The 49ers are currently in third place in the NFC West. It’s been a weird year so far for Kyle Shanahan’s team. They opened the season with three straight victories, defeating Seattle, New Orleans, and Arizona. Since then, they’ve gone 2-3. They have not scored more than 26 or fewer than 15 points in any of their eight games this year. Their other two wins this season are against the Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta. Their three losses have come against Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, and Houston. One very uncharacteristic stat — the Niners are averaging just 3.4 yards per attempt on the ground and Christian McCaffrey has more receiving yards (559) than he does rushing yards (490).
Injuries are wrecking both rosters
Giants fans are fully aware of how injuries can ruin a season. So far, they’ve lost star wideout Malik Nabers and stud rookie running back Cam Skattebo for the season. They have also been without their top tackler in linebacker Micah McFadden since Week 1.
The 49ers have lost some stars as well. Defensive end Nick Bosa is gone for the season, and now linebacker Fred Warner is on injured reserve (IR). Tight end George Kittle (hamstring) recently returned to the lineup after six weeks. Quarterback Brock Purdy has been out with a toe injury since Week 5. Wide receiver Bradon Aiyuk is still on PUP, and wideout Ricky Pearsall has missed the last four games with a knee injury.
Niners’ passing game is flourishing
San Francisco is second in the NFL in passing yards per game (259.3) despite not having Purdy for six of their games. Mac Jones has been filling in under center all while dealing with a left knee sprain and is now dealing with an oblique issue. Purdy tossed for 586 yards in his two starts. Jones has averaged 266.2 yards passing in his six starts, third-highest in the NFL behind only Justin Herbert and Matthew Stafford.