SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ The Giants had the ball at their own 25, trailing by three, with 2:46 remaining. It wasn't long ago that such circumstances would have been exactly the ones in which Eli Manning would thrive. Whether it was a Super Bowl or a midseason game, the cool king of the comeback would effortlessly march his team down the field and win the game. Automatic.
Those days are few and far between now. But on Monday night, Manning gave his teammates and supporters what could be one last look at the magic touch.
The quarterback drove the Giants 75 yards for the winning touchdown, a 3-yard pass to Sterling Shepard with 53 seconds remaining, to earn his team a 27-23 victory over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Manning did not have a stellar night. He did not even have a stellar drive, really. But with his tenure with the franchise clearly winding down and the team scuffling to score points in any manner, Manning was able to grind out the key fourth-quarter touchdown.
It was the 36th regular-season comeback win for Manning, but the first time he has thrown a TD in the fourth quarter or overtime to win a game in almost two full years. His last was on Nov. 16, 2016.
That it came against a two-win 49ers team with a third-string quarterback making his second NFL start hardly seemed to matter to the relief the Giants (2-7) felt with their first victory since Week 2 and the end of their six-game losing streak.
It also bought Manning at least a little more time at the helm of the franchise. With no guarantee of holding his starting job beyond this game, the 37-year-old likely secured at least another few outings with his performance.
The Giants trailed 13-10 at halftime, but they had a perfect opportunity to be ahead. Manning just did not see it.
On third-and-goal from the 3 with two minutes left in the second quarter, the Giants lined up with four wide receivers and had a running play called. The 49ers (2-8) stacked their defense up the middle to stuff that run, but in the process they lost track of Odell Beckham Jr. The wide receiver, in the slot to the left, was uncovered. He tried not to draw attention to himself and alert the defense to the situation, but when the ball was snapped he took a step forward and turned, expecting the ball. Instead, Manning handed it off to Saquon Barkley, who gained a yard. Beckham walked to the sideline pointing a finger in his own chest _ as if saying "Throw it here!" _ and the Giants had to settle for Aldrick Rosas' 20-yard field goal that tied the score at 10 with 1:50 left.
The 49ers used that remaining time to drive to the Giants' 18 _ helped by an 18-yard completion on third-and-5 and a 13-yard completion on third-and-11 with 12 seconds left _ to take the lead on a 36-yard field goal by Robbie Gould.
Gould's 53-yarder in the first quarter gave the 49ers an early lead, but an interception by linebacker B.J. Goodson that was returned to the San Francisco 12 set up the Giants' first touchdown. Manning's pocket was collapsing on a third-and-8 from the 10, but newly acquired guard Jamon Brown, in his first start for the Giants, was able to sweep Cassius Marsh out of the way and give Manning time to find Beckham in the back of the end zone with 2:43 left in the first.
The 49ers retook the lead on their next drive, capped by a 3-yard touchdown run from Matt Breida through a missed tackle attempt by Curtis Riley.
The 49ers opened the third quarter with an 11-play, 60-yard drive that took 6:51 and ended in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Nick Mullens to Breida after Rosas' second-half kickoff went out of bounds. The Giants responded with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Beckham to make it 20-17 with 6:36 left in the third. Corey Coleman's 51-yard return on the kickoff set up the drive, which also included a 30-yard completion to Beckham.
The Giants had great starting field possession on their next turn, too, thanks to an interference penalty against Tarvarius Moore on Quadree Henderson's attempt to field a punt. The Giants drove to the 13 _ on third-and-3 from there Manning tried to hit Beckham, who slipped at the top of the route with the ball falling incomplete. Rosas' 30-yard field goal tied it at 20 with 2:14 left in the third.
