Come on, the last thing the NY Giants needed in their Thursday Night Football dance with the San Francisco 49ers was for the guys in stripes to help out the home side. Well, that's exactly what has happened in the first half.
The Giants were having issues stopping the 49ers on third down, but they were finally able to make a stop, with George Kittle being brought down short of the sticks. It should have set up a field-goal attempt for SF. However, a flag was thrown on the field for a Leonard Williams roughing the passer on Brock Purdy.
Take a look at this clip below and please try to explain to us how in the world this is a penalty. Williams made a great play by putting pressure on Purdy, but the refs saw things differently.
Another 3rd and long, another Giants dumb play... Leo, man, I get it shouldn't be a penalty, but they're calling these EVERY time these days... pic.twitter.com/IWyMB23w5j
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) September 22, 2023
NY Giants fans are furious for a penalty called on Leonard Williams against Brock Purdy
You just can't make this call in that situation. What is Williams supposed to do here? This was the textbook definition of a bang-bang play. We get that the officials want to try and protect the quarterback, but this gave the 49ers a free touchdown.
Moments after the laundry hit the turf, Christian McCaffrey, to no surprise, took advantage of things and raced his way into the end zone. In the blink of an eye, the Giants went from celebrating a key 3rd-down stop to going down 17-3.
Luckily, Daniel Jones was able to drive the Giants down the field and Graham Gano hit on a 57-yarder to cut the deficit to 17-6 before halftime. However, San Francisco's TD really should have been a field goal instead. This entire sequence was infuriating and there's no excuse for it. The Giants entered tonight's game as 10.5-point underdogs. The refs costing them like this is unacceptable.