Bad Break for Giants; 49ers Roll : NFC: Hand injury sidelines New York’s Hampton during 20-6 loss at San Francisco.
SAN FRANCISCO — The New York Giants had nowhere to run against the San Francisco 49ers, and when they tried to anyway, it hurt.
The 49ers kept Rodney Hampton bottled up before driving him out because of a broken hand and kept the pressure on quarterback Dave Brown, holding the Giants without a touchdown in a 20-6 victory Sunday.
“They couldn’t run the ball. They couldn’t pass the ball and I think they were surprised they couldn’t do one or the other,†49er defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield said.
Steve Young led four scoring drives, and the 49ers (4-1) rebounded from their Monday night upset loss at Detroit in the first meeting with the Giants (1-4) since San Francisco’s 44-3 playoff victory in January 1994.
“We were taking a lot of heat because of last week at Detroit,†49er linebacker Gary Plummer said. “We wanted to re-establish ourselves as a good defense. We were excited about the chance for retribution.â€
Hampton, coming off a four-touchdown, 149-yard performance in New York’s 45-29 victory over New Orleans last week, was held to 27 yards in 11 carries before breaking his right hand.
He left late in the third quarter after recovering a wayward pitch from Brown. Hampton had 12 yards rushing on seven carries in the Giants’ playoff loss to San Francisco two seasons ago.
“Our main attack is our running game,†Brown said. “They’re a very stout defense up front and Plummer in the middle is like a sixth defensive lineman.
“We moved the ball pretty well, but we just can’t seem to punch it in once we get inside the 20. . . . We just can’t seem to string enough good plays together to get us in the end zone.â€
Brown completed 22 of 43 for 218 yards but was sacked twice, threw an interception and was charged with a fumble on the blown pitch to Hampton.
“We just could not offensively sustain a drive without something happening to stop us,†Giants coach Dan Reeves said.
Young was 26 for 40 for 202 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.
Despite playing without injured tackle Bryant Young (ankle) and cornerback Eric Davis (shoulder and groin), the 49ers hadn’t allowed a run of more than 10 yards this season until Tyrone Wheatley’s 12-yard gain in the fourth quarter.
Still, the Giants were held to only 47 yards rushing with Junior Bryant starting in place of Young and Tyronne Drakeford playing in place of Davis.
“This just showed that some guys who hadn’t started before stepped up and did what they had to do,†Stubblefield said.
The 49ers scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the second quarter for a 17-3 halftime lead.
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