By Vic Tafur, Matt Barrows, Charlotte Carroll and Devon Henderson

Last week, the San Francisco 49ers barely managed 10 total plays before halftime against the Houston Texans. On Sunday, however, the 49ers walked into MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and rolled over the New York Giants in a dominant 34-24 win to improve their record to 6-3. The Giants dropped to 2-7.

Both teams’ quarterbacks — Mac Jones of the 49ers and Jaxson Dart of the Giants — displayed lethal first-half efficiency. Before a chaotic final 40 seconds of the half that included a Jones fumble, a Dart three-and-out and a missed Giants field goal, both signal callers had been nearly perfect. Up to that point, Jones was 14 of 14 for 143 yards and two touchdowns, while Dart was 11 of 12 for 65 yards and a score of his own.

The 49ers’ injury-riddled defense kept New York mostly in check despite a late second-half surge from the Giants that wasn’t enough to close the gap. A late rushing score in the fourth quarter made it five straight games that Dart has notched both a passing and rushing touchdown — a record for NFL rookies. Tim Tebow and Daniel Jones shared the previous record of four.

Dart finished the game 24 of 33 for 191 passing yards and three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing). He also added 56 yards on the ground. Jones went 19 of 24 for 235 yards and two touchdowns. Jones moves to 5-2 as a starter for San Francisco in relief of Brock Purdy, who has missed seven weeks with a toe injury. 

49ers running back Christian McCaffrey continued to dominate defenses through the air and on the ground, finishing with 106 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, plus 67 receiving yards and a touchdown catch. It was his 16th game with both a receiving and rushing score, which put him ahead of Marshall Faulk as the NFL’s all-time leader in such games.

49ers take advantage of Giants’ weak run defense

The Giants came into Week 9 allowing 5.73 yards per carry — the worst of any team through eight games since 1959 — so the 49ers ran the ball 38 times. They only gained 160 yards, but new closer Brian Robinson Jr. had 53 of them, plus the touchdown that iced the game, on five carries.

Even though McCaffrey had 116 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, he did most of his damage catching the ball. Counting the two times that the Giants seemed to forget to cover him, McCaffrey finished with five catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. He has gained more than 100 yards from scrimmage in eight of nine games this season. — Vic Tafur, 49ers senior writer 

Jauan Jennings bounces back

Jennings, who has been injured, frustrated and not his usual sure-handed self over the last month, looked more comfortable in Sunday’s win. Mac Jones targeted the 49ers’ receiver — nicknamed “Third and Jauan” — five times against the Giants, including three times on third down. One of those third-down throws resulted in an 11-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Jennings has been on the injury report since the start of the season, as he has dealt with calf, shoulder, ankle and rib injuries. His health issues have curbed both his receiving numbers and his famously feisty blocking ability. But Jennings appears to be as healthy as he’s been in months, just as the team is anticipating returns from Brock Purdy (toe) and Ricky Pearsall (knee).

The team also appears close to opening the 21-day practice window for Brandon Aiyuk (ACL). — Matt Barrows, 49ers writer

Improved defense from the 49ers

A 49ers defense that leaked yardage last week in Houston wasn’t perfect on Sunday, but it did a far better job of minimizing big gains. San Francisco gave up just two plays of 20 yards or more on Sunday: a 24-yard catch and run by Darius Slayton midway through the fourth quarter and a 24-yard touchdown pass during garbage time.

The team allowed four such plays against the Texans, including a pass play of 50 yards and another that went for a 30-yard touchdown. Middle linebacker Tatum Bethune was notably improved, leading the defense with a career-high 16 tackles and eliminating the busts that marked last week’s defensive effort. — Barrows

Dart stays sharp

Despite the Giants’ struggles this season, rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart has remained a bright spot. Wisely or not, Dart continues to take big hits, then get up and keep running.

Dart took one particularly brutal backside sack in the second quarter. After Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas pushed the 49ers’ Clelin Ferrell back on the play, Ferrell kept running and pummeled Dart from behind. It was a low in the 22-year-old rookie’s game.

In the fourth quarter, Dart helped lead a quick, three-minute touchdown to make it a 10-point game. He capped that drive with a 6-yard touchdown run. But the Giants’ defense gave up another touchdown after that, putting a win seemingly out of reach. Dart led one more valiant TD drive to pull within 10 points, but with only one minute and 27 seconds left after the score, New York’s comeback hopes fell short.

Give it to Dart — he doesn’t quit. — Charlotte Carroll, Giants beat writer

New York’s struggles stopping the run

The Giants’ run defense has been a thorn in the team’s side for the last two seasons, and Sunday was no different. For the second week in a row, an opposing offense prioritized the rush and found easy success. Last week, it was Eagles star Saquon Barkley torching the Giants. This week, Christian McCaffrey tallied more than 100 yards on the ground. Since holding the Eagles and Broncos to 17 points over a seven-quarter stretch in Weeks 6 and 7, the Giants have allowed 105 points over the subsequent nine quarters. — Carroll