49ers 35, Buccaneers 7: Grades
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SANTA CLARA -- Forget a statement game. The 49ers just made a major announcement through a bullhorn to the entire league with their 35-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And the announcement is this: the 49ers are ready to compete for the Super Bowl, they've won six in a row and they're better with Brock Purdy than they were with Jimmy Garoppolo. Watch out. Here are their grades.
BROCK PURDY: A-PLUS
He's better than Jimmy Garoppolo. Purdy can make all the short throws which are Garoppolo's specialty, but also can scramble, improvise, run for touchdowns and throw deep. He isn't the product of yards after the catch like Garoppolo is. Purdy actually wants to throw down the field, which means the 49ers offense is better with him than it was with Garoppolo. It's too bad the 49ers didn't turn to Purdy instead of Garoppolo when Trey Lance injured his ankle in Week 2. If Purdy had been starting all season, the 49ers might be the No. 1 or the No. 2 seed right now. Instead, the 49ers played Garoppolo, who missed all of OTAs, minicamp and training camp, and he lost three games he should have won. But that's history, and now the 49ers have their best quarterback on the field for the stretch run of the season. Suddenly, the 49ers seem like legit Super Bowl contenders because of Purdy. They just have to keep him healthy. Unfortunately for the 49ers, Purdy injured his oblique taking a hit and left this game early. He said he could have finished it if the 49ers needed him, but he also said he's not sure if he can play Thursday against the Seahawks. He'll have to see how he feels tomorrow. Something to monitor.
RUNNING BACKS: A
Christian McCaffrey was phenomenal -- he gained 153 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns. One was a 27-yard touchdown catch. It's amazing what he can do with a quarterback who's not afraid to throw downfield. Jordan Mason also ran well -- he averaged 5.1 yards per carry on 11 attempts. The 49ers should have gotten him involved earlier. Instead, they used Deebo Samuel as their change-of-pace back in the first half, and he fumbled while injuring his ankle running between the tackles near midfield with a three touchdown lead. The injury most likely is a high-ankle sprain that will keep Samuel out for a few games, but nothing is official yet. The 49ers need to stop running non running backs between the tackles. They did that with Trey Lance too, and that didn't work out so well, either.
WIDE RECEIVERS: B-PLUS
Brandon Aiyuk caught just two passes, but one catch was a 32-yard touchdown. Again, it's amazing what Aiyuk can do with a quarterback who's not afraid to throw downfield.
TIGHT ENDS: C
George Kittle had his usual performance -- four catches, 28 yards and a few good blocks. Certainly not what the 49ers pay him to produce.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: A
The 49ers rushed for 209 yards and gave up zero sacks, which means the offensive line couldn't have played much better. Whenever the 49ers ran the ball, they almost always ran to the left.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: A-PLUS
They never sacked Tom Brady, but they hit him seven times and forced him into lots of bad throws, two of which were interceptions.
LINEBACKERS: A-PLUS
Dre Greenlaw made a team-high 15 tackles, plus he intercepted Brady. Greenlaw might be the best linebacker in the NFL -- he looks like Patrick Willis Jr.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: A
Tashaun Gipson intercepted Brady, and Jimmie Ward forced a fumble. But they also gave up an extremely long touchdown catch that didn't count simply because the defensive line forced a holding penalty in the backfield. Which means the defensive line bailed out the defensive backs on that play.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B
They gave up a 54-yard kickoff return to start the second half. Other than that, they were terrific.
COACHES: B-PLUS.
DeMeco Ryans put together another brilliant performance as the 49ers defensive coordinator -- he almost certainly will become a head coach this offseason. He deserves the opportunity, because he clearly is an excellent strategist and motivator. Kyle Shanahan also deserves major credit for getting third-string quarterback Brock Purdy ready to play. The Buccaneers tried to overwhelm Purdy with exotic blitzes, but Shanahan had him prepared to beat those pressures. That's impressive coaching. What's odd is how Kyle Shanahan didn't know what he had in Purdy until just now. Shanahan has watched Purdy in every practice since May, and still thought Jimmy Garoppolo with zero offseason gave the 49ers a better chance to win this year. That's because Shanahan does not evaluate quarterbacks well. If he did evaluate quarterbacks well, he would have drafted Patrick Mahomes. But give Shanahan credit for drafting Purdy and having him ready when he got his opportunity, which came too late. But at least it came this season, and now the 49ers have a real chance to win the Super Bowl because they have a real talented quarterback on the field.
