Giants ‘embarrassed’ by 49ers fans’ MetLife Stadium takeover

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.

During San Francisco’s 34-24 victory over the Giants on Sunday, the 49ers faithful took over MetLife Stadium with a fervor that even the Eagles and Cowboys fan bases might find hard to replicate.

“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 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 Jr. 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 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 wondered if maybe the worst performance by the Giants 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.”

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Daboll is sticking with defensive coordinator Shane Bowen as the play-caller but made a passing reference to schematic changes when listing what needs to improve.

“There are a number of things, from technique to maybe changing up the scheme a little bit to open-field tackling,” Daboll said. “Everything that’s important on defense, we’ve got to do a better job of.”

Asked what schematic changes might be coming, Daboll pumped the brakes.

“It’s not drastic,” Daboll said. “I would just say each week you do that. I’m just saying obviously it hasn’t been good enough, but that’s collectively, and that’s my job. It’s not the defense. It’s not the offense. It’s not the kicking game. It’s all three phases, and that’s my responsibility.”

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Dart is “good” after his shoulder was in enough pain on the sideline that he had his head buried in his hands on the bench following his touchdown pass with 1:21 to go.

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WR Darius Slayton passed his sideline concussion test in the final minutes of the game.