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McCaffrey, Samuel lead 49ers past Giants for 3-0 start

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (C) runs for a four yard touchdown against the New York Giants on Thursday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
1 of 5 | San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (C) runs for a four yard touchdown against the New York Giants on Thursday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Deebo Samuel totaled 129 yards and a score on six catches, while Christian McCaffrey logged 119 yards from scrimmage and another touchdown, leading the San Francisco 49ers past the New York Giants for a 3-0 start

The 49ers edged the Giants 26-10 in first downs, 441-150 in total yards and averaged 5.7 yards per play in the 30-12 victory Thursday in Santa Clara, Calif. McCaffrey scored for the 12th-consecutive game, equaling Jerry Rice's franchise record.

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"Obviously you want to win every game, but we have a high standard," 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy told reporters. "We have a standard that we want to be the best versions of ourselves. For us it's sort of like, yeah, we win the game which is most important and is great, but there's stuff out there that we can clean up and be better at.

"That's the standard that we have here."

The 49ers opened the game with a 15-play drive, ending with a 28-yard Jake Moody field goal. The Giants then used 12 plays to march into 49ers territory, where Graham Gano tied the score with a 44-yard field goal.

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The 49ers and Giants then exchanged punts. Purdy ended the next drive with a 9-yard pass to Ronnie Bell, helping the 49ers take a 10-3 edge midway through the second quarter.

McCaffrey later ended an 11-play, 73-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. Gano answered with a 57-yard field goal just before halftime, making the score 17-6 at the break.

The Giants tightened the game with a 2-play, 37-yard drive in the third quarter. Running back Matt Breida ended the possession with an 8-yard run, but the Giants never scored again.

The 49ers responded with an 11-play, 72-yard drive, ending with a 21-yard Moody field goal. Moody made another 36-yard kick a few minutes into the fourth quarter.

Purdy found Samuel for a 27-yard touchdown midway through the fourth for the final score of the night. That pass ended an 8-play, 70-yard drive.

"That's a heck of a football team there," Giants coach Brian Daboll said. "We came back out in the second half, had a score, went for two to try to cut it to three. It was a 17-12 game. Just give them credit. They did a lot of good stuff. That's a good team."

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Purdy completed 25 of 37 passes for 310 yards and two scores in the win. Tight end George Kittle totaled seven catches for 90 yards.

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones completed 22 of 32 passes for 137 yards and an interception.

The 49ers (3-0) will host the Arizona Cardinals (0-2) on Oct. 1 in Santa Clara. The Giants (1-2) will host the Seattle Seahawks (1-1) on Oct. 2 in East Rutherford, N.J.

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