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49ers 15, Washington 23: Grades

What a ridiculous season.

What a ridiculous season.

It essentially ended for the 49ers Sunday when they lost 23-15 to Washington. The 49ers technically aren’t eliminated from the playoffs, but they basically are.

They couldn’t catch a break all season. There was a pandemic, most of their good players got injured or ill at some point, they got evicted from Santa Clara county, they had to relocate to Arizona and they still fought to the death. There’s honor in that.

But they’re 5-8 now -- they will not have a winning season. And there are no good losses in the NFL. So here are the 49ers’ grades for this one:

QUARTERBACK: F.

Nick Mullens had his excuses. George Kittle is out, Deebo Samuel injured his hamstring on the first play and left the game, the offensive line is atrocious, Mullens got hit 12 times and sacked four times and he was facing the No. 4 rated defense in the league which has a dominant defensive line. He wasn’t going to play well or put up good numbers.

But he would have won had he played a conservative game and protected the ball. He fumbled while scrambling on first down when he could have thrown the ball away, and he threw a pick on second and 2 when he could have thrown the ball away. Both times, Washington scored a touchdown off his turnover. Mullens isn’t an F quarterback, but this was an F performance.

Still, give him credit for battling. He took as many hits in this game as Garoppolo took all season, and got up every time. Garoppolo is better than Mullens, but Garoppolo is fragile and expensive. They can’t afford to keep him and overhaul the offensive line this offseason. And Garoppolo can’t survive behind this offensive line, anyway. No quarterback can. I feel bad for Garoppolo, Mullens and whichever quarterback the 49ers draft, sign or trade for this offseason unless the 49ers find a way to improve their pass protection.

RUNNING BACKS: C.

Kyle Juszczyk and Jeffrey Wilson scored the 49ers only touchdowns, so that’s good. But Wilson also fumbled, and that’s not good. Raheem Mostert played through head and knee injuries and still averaged 4.6 yards per carry on 14 attempts. He’s a terrific running back when healthy -- he just wasn’t healthy this season. Neither was Samuel or Kittle. Bad luck for the 49ers.

WIDE RECEIVERS: B-MINUS.

Brandon Aiyuk was brilliant once again. He had 10 catches for 119 yards, and carried the offense all game after Samuel injured his hamstring on the first play. But Samuel’s replacement, Kendrick Bourne, dropped three, maybe four passes, plus he committed a false start. Bourne makes too many mistakes to be a top-three receiver on a good depth chart. The 49ers will need a new No. 3 receiver next season.

TIGHT ENDS: C.

Jordan Reed had two catches and one sideline tantrum -- par for the course for him. Ross Dwelley also had two catches, but he committed one holding penalty. And Charlie Woerner dropped the only pass that came his way.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: F-MINUS.

They gave up 12 quarterback hits. Unacceptable. The 49ers never would have let Garoppolo or a young first-round pick take that much punishment. I can’t believe Mullens made it through the game. And after taking a beating and committing two turnovers that led to 14 points for Washington, Mullens had the 49ers in position to tie the game late. And then, he completed a 22-yard pass to Bourne on third and 2 on the final drive. But it didn’t count, because Mike freaking McGlinchey got beat by Montez Sweat and committed a holding penalty. And then, two plays later on fourth and 12, McGlinchey got walked straight back to the quarterback, and Mullens had to throw a short pass over the middle which didn’t pick up the first down. And the 49ers lost.

McGlincney doesn’t even punch in pass protection. He’s tall, light, lanky, high-cut and soft. The 49ers must replace him this offseason, or else next season will be a bust just like this one, and the next quarterback will get injured just like Garoppolo. The 49ers had lots of bad luck this season, but the offensive line isn’t bad luck. It’s negligence. The 49ers should have known it wasn’t good enough after they lost the Super Bowl, but they kid themselves and didn’t seriously address the interior or the right side this offseason. Now they have to overhaul the whole thing. Will they? Can they?

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: A-MINUS.

Arik Armstead made a cameo appearance in the stat sheet with one tackle -- a big game for him. The rest of the line was terrific. Javon Kinlaw and Kerry Hyder were fantastic against the run, and Dion Jordan recorded a sack.

LINEBACKERS: A.

Fred Warner left the game with a stinger and the defense didn’t drop off at all. Dre Greenlaw made a game-saving tackle on third and 6, but the 49ers offense couldn’t score points afterward.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: A.

They gave up 108 passing yards and no touchdowns, and still lost. Tarvarius Moore was good. So was Dontae Johnson, Richard Sherman, Jimmie Ward, Jason Verrett, Ahkello Witherspoon -- all of them. Verrett had an interception. And Ward almost made an interception at the end, but the ball nicked the ground. Meaning the 49ers were a blade of grass away from winning. That kind of season.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B.

The special teams gave up a 22-yard punt return, but also pinned Washington at its one-yard line late in the fourth quarter. Tevin Coleman made that play. He is a much better gunner than running back.

COACHES: A.

Robert Saleh did his job. His defense smothered Washington’s offense. And Shanahan did the best he could. It’s not his fault that he lost his starting quarterback, starting tight end and No. 1 wide receiver. It is partially Shanahan’s fault that the offensive line is so bad, because he has such a large say in scouting and player acquisition, but I’m not grading those aspects of his job today. I’m grading his performance against Washington. And he did everything he could.

QUALITY CONTROL: F.

I told the 49ers to move McGlinchey to left bench. I made videos to highlight his horrendous play. I tried to inspire him to play better. Apparently, my efforts didn’t work. I have to find a new way to simultaneously coach up McGlinchey while convincing the 49ers to replace him this offseason. Fortunately for the 49ers, I’m up to the task.