San Francisco 49ers: Nick Mullens, players to watch vs. Giants in Week 10

The San Francisco 49ers will be out to earn back-to-back wins when they face the New York Giants in Week 10. Here we look at players key to their hopes.

After a six-game losing streak, the San Francisco 49ers have the opportunity to earn back-to-back wins when they welcome the New York Giants to Levi’s Stadium in Week 10.

The 49ers crushed the Oakland Raiders 34-3 on Thursday Night Football as Nick Mullens enjoyed a dream debut, and he is favored to have more primetime success against a one-win Giants team, even if New York is coming off a bye week.

Here we look at the five players key to San Francisco’s hopes of moving to 3-7 on the season heading into their Week 11 bye.

Nick Mullens

Let’s start with the obvious. All eyes from a Niners perspective will be on Nick Mullens to see if his outstanding performance in his debut against the Raiders carries into a second week.

The Giants defense is marginally better than that of the Raiders but is still one he should be able to exploit. New York headed into Week 10 ranked a lowly 31st in Adjusted Sack Rate by Football Outsiders, meaning a much improved offensive line should be able to provide him with plenty of time to throw.

If he can capitalise on that expected protection and lead the offense to the same kind of success it had against Oakland, that will go a long way towards the Niners making it back-to-back wins for the first time in 2018.