49ers 38, Cardinals 13: Grades
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SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers just beat the Arizona Cardinals 38-13, won their 10th game in a row and secured the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. Here are the 49ers' grades for this performance.
BROCK PURDY: A
He faced much more pressure than usual -- he got sacked four times. But he still was nearly perfect. He completed 15 of 20 passes with three drops, threw three touchdown passes, committed zero turnovers and posted a passer rating of 141.2. Purdy showed an unteachable ability to change his arm slot and release point in the face of pressure and still throw accurately. And most importantly, he continued to show the ability to throw touchdown passes in the red zone. Today, he threw two dimes to George Kittle in the end zone -- suddenly Kittle is a red-zone threat for the first time in his career all because of Purdy. He finishes drives with touchdowns when Garoppolo would often settle for field goals. With Purdy, the 49ers statistically have the best offense in the league. And when it clicks, it's unstoppable. In this game, the 49ers scored 24 unanswered points in fewer than 20 minutes. That's dominance.
RUNNING BACKS: A
Christian McCaffrey gained 79 yards from scrimmage and caught a touchdown pass on a screen play -- he's still good. But so are the other running backs. Elijah Mitchell returned from a knee injury, averaged a whopping 11 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns. The 49ers are so difficult to beat when he's healthy. And Kyle Juszczyk actually got the ball twice -- he had a three-yard run and a 26-yard catch. The 49ers are so difficult to beat when Juszczyk gets the ball.
WIDE RECEIVERS: C-PLUS
Brandon Aiyuk had four catches for 59 yards -- he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark this season for the first time in his career. Deebo Samuel played his first game since injuring his knee, and he had just two catches for 20 yards plus a four-yard run. He still doesn't seem like himself.
TIGHT ENDS: A
George Kittle caught two touchdown passes, which means he has caught seven touchdown passes in the past four games and 11 total for the season. Suddenly, he's a legitimate threat in the red zone for the first time in his career. What a shame that he didn't get to play with Brock Purdy when he was younger.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: C-MINUS
The run blocking was good but the pass protection was not. The left side couldn't pick up simple twists and stunts, and the right side simply got beaten one on one -- right guard Spencer Burford gave up two sacks and Mike McGlinchey gave up one. Collectively, they made J.J. Watt look like he was 25.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: A
Nick Bosa recorded sack No. 18.5, which leads the NFL. Jordan Willis also recorded a sack and a forced fumble which Michael Dwumfour recovered. Willis is becoming a terrific bookend opposite Bosa. Arik Armstead did not register a statistic.
LINEBACKERS: B-PLUS
Azeez Al-Shaair recorded 10 tackles and Fred Warner recorded 8, but the 49ers underneath pass coverage took a big hit without Dre Greenlaw, who missed the game with a back injury. Suddenly, check down passes can go for big gains against the 49ers, when Greenlaw normally would shut them down. They need him back for the playoffs.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: B
Deommodore Lenoir gave up a 77-yard touchdown catch on the second play of the game to a washed-up A.J. Green. Lenoir is a liability whom playoff teams will attack mercilessly, so he better be ready. On the positive side, Talanoa Hufanga didn't bust a coverage for the first time in roughly a month, Tashaun Gipson intercepted two passes and George Odum picked off one. Still, the secondary made fourth-string quarterback David Blough look good in the first half. What will happen when the secondary faces great quarterbacks in the playoffs? I guess we'll find out.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A
Robbie Gould was perfect, Mitch Wishnowsky dropped three of his five punts inside the Arizona 20-yard line and Ray Ray McCloud had a 33-yard kickoff return to go with an 11-yard punt return. This unit is fantastic.
COACHES: A
The defense gave up a touchdown catch on the first play of the game but only 7 points the rest of the way -- give DeMeco Ryans credit for adjusting on the fly. Now he has to get his defense ready to play from the opening whistle, because too many times this season the 49ers have given up touchdowns on the opening drive. The 49ers offense looked disjointed early, as it made lots of mistakes and had a bunch of busted plays. Also, 11 of the first 24 plays went to McCaffrey, which isn't ideal -- the 49ers offense is at its best when all the playmakers get the ball. But eventually, the offense settled down, moved the ball with ease and scored touchdowns in the red zone -- that's the biggest difference between the Brock Purdy Offense and the Jimmy Garoppolo Offense. Garoppolo tended to stall in the red zone, where Purdy tends to score touchdowns. Now the 49ers have statistically the best offense in the league, and Kyle Shanahan deserves big-time credit for that. All he needed was a quarterback he trusts who could go off script when necessary. Since Purdy has taken over, the 49ers have scored at least 33 points in every game except one. In addition, with Purdy the 49ers have scored a touchdown on their first possession of the second half four times in five games. Purdy clearly brings out the best of Shanahan.
