SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Wan’Dale Robinson, the Giants’ speedy second-year wide receiver, made his season debut Thursday night in their 30-12 loss to the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
Robinson had not played since Nov. 20, when he tore his ACL in only his sixth game for the Giants in his rookie year.
A 2022 second-round draft pick, he was having his best game when he went down, with nine catches for 100 yards and his only touchdown of the season.
He finished his rookie year with 23 receptions for 227 yards.
It did not take long for Robinson to get into the action on Thursday night.
On the third play, he went to his knees to haul in a 7-yard pass from Daniel Jones to pick up a first down on a drive that ended with a Graham Gano field goal.
Through three quarters, Robinson had four catches for 21 yards.
It is now abundantly clear that veteran guard Mark Glowinski is buried on the depth chart.
He was benched after a poor performance in the season-opening loss to the Cowboys and was back on the field in Arizona only because Ben Bredeson went out with a concussion.
Glowinski finished that game at left guard, but he was not the choice against the 49ers.
Shane Lemieux started at left guard.
Lemieux, a 2020 fifth-round draft pick, started nine games as a rookie, but injuries limited him to only two games the past two seasons.
Rookie CB Deonte Banks went out in the third quarter with an arm injury.
That moved Adoree’ Jackson outside to the perimeter and Darnay Holmes came off the bench to play in the slot.
DL D.J. Davidson left with an elbow injury.
There was some extracurricular activity in the final seconds of the first half, as DT A’Shawn Robinson and LT Trent Williams were hit with offsetting unnecessary roughing penalties.
Williams got away with throwing a punch at Robinson.
The Giants inactive players: RB Saquon Barkley, CB Cor’Dale Flott, S Gervarrius Owens, OLB Azeez Ojulari, Bredeson, T Andrew Thomas, DL Jordon Riley.
Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers’ leading wide receiver, did not play because of a shoulder injury.
Aiyuk, in two games, was tied with Deebo Samuel for the team lead in receptions (11) and led the Niners in receiving yards (172) and receiving touchdowns (2).
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District announced a Spare the Air alert for Wednesday and Thursday, indicating that pollutants in the air exceeded federal health standards.
There was a distinct smoky smell in the area from wildfires in Oregon and Northern California.
Justin Pugh’s workout with the Giants “went well’’ according to a source.
Pugh met with his former team (he was a first-round pick in 2013) in the Phoenix area, where he lives, Wednesday morning, before the Giants traveled to California.
Pugh, 33, is healed from his October surgery to repair a torn ACL and would like to return to the Giants. He spent his first five NFL seasons with the Giants and the past five years with the Cardinals.
