49ers live blog: Giants kick FG just before halftime to cut into Niners’ lead

The 49ers open their home schedule Thursday night as they host the New York Giants at Levi’s Stadium.

Each team is missing a big-time playmaker on offense, as 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has a shoulder injury and Giants running back Saquon Barkley is out with a sprained ankle.

Here is our live blog of all the action:

0:13, 2Q – 49ers 17, Giants 6: Graham Gano nails a 57-yard field goal after the Giants moved the ball quickly inside the 49ers’ 40-yard line, then stalled just before halftime.

1:40, 2Q – 49ers 17, Giants 3: Christian McCaffrey cuts through the middle of the line for a 4-yard touchdown just one play after a third-down roughing-the-passer call gave the 49ers a first down. Back-to-back runs from McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell move the ball a total of 30 yards, then a wild catch by Bell gained another 15. Brock Purdy’s short pass intended for Deebo Samuel was batted in the air and caught by Bell about 10 yards further downfield.

7:49, 2Q – 49ers 10, Giants 3: Ronnie Bell makes the first catch of his NFL career, and it’s a third-down touchdown, as Brock Purdy finds him on an out-breaker just inside the goal line from the 9-yard line. Two screen passes — a 30-yarder to Deebo Samuel on third-and-15, and a 17-yarder to Christian McCaffrey on third-and-13 — carried the 49ers down the field.

0:44, 1Q – 49ers 3, Giants 3: After the Giants fielded a punt at their own 10-yard line, they open their drive with a play-action pass, and Daniel Jones is sacked by Nick Bosa at the 2. Bosa was untouched en route to his first sack of the season. The Giants then had to punt on the second play of the second quarter after failing to pick up a first down.

3:18, 1Q – 49ers 3, Giants 3: The Giants answer back with a 44-yard field goal by Graham Gano. Daniel Jones was 5-of-7 on the drive for 38 yards against the 49ers’ vaunted defense. New York had not scored in the first half of either of its two games prior to Thursday night.

8:44, 1Q – 49ers 3, Giants 0: Rookie Jake Moody makes his first regular-season field goal attempt at Levi’s Stadium, a 28-yarder that capped a 15-play, 64-yard drive that saw key third-down conversions from Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings, as well as a quarterback sneak from Brock Purdy.

Below are pregame notes from Thursday afternoon and evening:

SANTA CLARA — Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers’ top receiver through two games as well as last season, is not suiting up for tonight’s home opener.

Aiyuk’s shoulder injury Sunday has prompted the 49ers (2-0) to deactivate him against the New York Giants (1-1). He last missed a game in the 2020 regular-season finale of his rookie year.

The 49ers’ wide receiving corps will instead consist of Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Ray-Ray McCloud, Ronnie Bell and Chris Conley, an eighth-year veteran who was activated from the practice squad to make his potential 49ers debut.

Also inactive for the 49ers are cornerback Ambry Thomas, offensive lineman Nick Zakelj, defensive lineman Kalia Davis, running back Ty Davis-Price and linebacker Jalen Graham. Brandon Allen was designated as the third quarterback.

Aiyuk earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors with his season debut (eight catches, 129 yards, two touchdowns), and, despite hurting his shoulder on his first catch Sunday, he finished with three catches for 43 yards while rotating in that win over the Rams with Ronnie Bell.

Other pregame moves, announced just over three hours before the 5:15 p.m. kickoff, were the promotion of cornerback Tre Swilling (from the practice squad to the active roster), the release of cornerback Anthony Brown (two days after he was signed, though he could return next week) and the practice-squad activation of cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles.

Those extra cornerbacks, Swilling and Jean-Charles, fortify special teams and the cornerback unit in the wake of knee injuries to Samuel Womack (placed on Injured Reserve on Saturday) and Thomas (injured Sunday).

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The Giants, who rallied from a 20-0 halftime deficit Sunday, announced Wednesday they’ll be without star running back Saquon Barkley (ankle) as well as two starting offensive linemen, left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring) and left guard Ben Bredeson (concussion).

Also inactive for the Giants are cornerback Cordale Flott, safety Gervarrius Owens, defensive end Azeez Ojulari and nose tackle Jordan Riley.

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Wildfire smoke continues to permeate the Bay Area air, so much so that the air-quality index read 132 near Levi’s Stadium about three hours before kickoff. That is not severe enough for the NFL to postpone the game, something required if the AQI reading reaches 200 or greater.

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Here is the 49ers’ home-opener history as Levi’s Stadium opens its 10th season:

2014: Loss, 20-18 to the Chicago Bears, Week 2

2015: Win, 20-3 over the Minnesota Vikings, Week 1

2016: Win, 28-0 over the Los Angeles Rams, Week 1

2017: Loss, 23-3 to the Carolina Panthers, Week 1

2018: Win, 30-27 over the Detroit Lions, Week 2

2019: Win, 24-20 over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Week 3

2020: Loss, 24-20 to the Arizona Cardinals, Week 1

2021: Loss, 30-28 to the Green Bay Packers, Week 3

2022: Win, 27-7 over the Seattle Seahawks, Week 2