Leading up to Friday, Kennard had insisted he would do everything in his power to play against the San Francisco 49ers, but ultimately ran short on time.
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The total, which is set at 43 points, has gone under in four of the last five games between these two teams and in five of the last seven meetings in New York.
On the surface, Sunday night’s game looks easy. “I’m hopeful just because I want to be out there with my team”.
The Niners head into Met Life Stadium on Sunday night looking to get anything going offensively as they are coming off a 17-3 loss to the Packers last weekend and haven’t been able to get a win since their season opener against Minnesota.
“A play here or a play there and they are in position at home to win”, Coughlin said. It’s the defensive contributions as a pass rusher that are the most surprising – Whitlock is listed as a fullback on the roster – but he was a two-time All-ACC defensive lineman at Wake Forest, so maybe they shouldn’t be.
This game is huge for the 1-3 San Francisco team as it tries to rebound from the previous three losses-none of which were close.
Odell Beckham Jr.is likely to provide the back end of the 49er defense with plenty of problems but another strong showing in pass coverage would certainly give San Francisco a chance of adding to the two takeaways it has recorded in 2015 and boost hopes of a surprise victory. Last week, he had arguably his best game as a pro when he went one-on-one with Buffalo Bills DE Jerry Hughes. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and running back Carlos Hyde combined for 57 rushing yards, and wide receivers Torrey Smith and Quinton Patton were two of the main contributors to the 49ers 160 receiving yards.
“I’m good with that”, Coughlin said of Whitlock’s workload. He is powerful against the run, and can crush quarterbacks and play decent coverage as well.
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“They’re similar in many ways to Green Bay actually, west coast style, Eli gets the ball out quick, if not quick it’s going deep”. “We are all praying for him, believe me”. He’s a challenge. We’re getting better with time, working out the kinks. He said the Giants remain hopeful that Kennard can play on Sunday. Kennard has been lights out this season and the 49ers may look to exploit the replacement at the position if Kennard can’t go.
