Sights and sounds that would have been unimaginable in the heyday of the Giants-49ers rivalry left Jon Runyan Jr. with a pit in his stomach.
49ers faithful took over MetLife Stadium on Sunday with a fervor that even the Eagles and Cowboys fan bases might find hard to replicate during a 34-24 victory against the Giants.
“Putting out the performance we had as a team, seeing the San Fran fans all packing the stadium, I felt embarrassed leaving the field,” Runyan Jr. said, “and that’s not really a feeling you want to have leaving your own home stadium.”
There was a “C-M-C!” chant for Christian McCaffrey, enough noise in a key moment that – even with a silent snap count – Runyan’s offensive line mates (John Michael Schmitz and Marcus Mbow) committed back-to-back false starts and mostly red jerseys in the stands at the end.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart said Sunday that he had never before played in a game where fan support for the visiting team “was kind of lopsided.”
That kind of embarrassment felt by fans and players could be as damning for general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll as their three consecutive 2-7 starts.
Runyan Jr. previously played for the Packers (who have a season-ticket waiting list a mile long) and grew up watching his father play for the Eagles (who have one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL).
Runyan Jr. wondered if maybe the Giants’ worst performance in weeks could be traced to a hangover effect from losing energizing running back Cam Skattebo to a gruesome dislocated ankle and open fractured tibia one week earlier.
“I kind of felt like the energy sucked out of us when our best player went down at midfield,” Runyan said, referring to Skattebo’s injury. “I felt like that kind of really hurt, really shook a lot of guys, unfortunately. And I feel like it kind of took the wind out of our sails.
“But that’s how this league is: It’s brutal. You have to keep going after witnessing something like that, and it’s tough. Those are the times where you have to come together as teammates and get this stuff fixed.”
