Grading the 49ers After Their 36-30 Win Over the Arizona Cardinals

They're 3-0.

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers just beat the Arizona Cardinals 36-30. Here are the 49ers' grades for this performance.

QUARTERBACK: A

Brock Purdy had another nearly flawless game. This time, he did it without Mike Evans, who went down in the first half with a rib injury, and Trent Williams, who went down in the second half with a stinger. These injuries didn't affect Purdy at all. By the end of the game, his No. 1 wide receiver was Deebo Samuel, who finished with zero catches, although he did score after catching a lateral from Evans. Purdy also had a long run that should have been a touchdown but it got called back because of a dubious holding penalty on George Kittle. Purdy is playing as well as any quarterback in the league right now and has a legitimate chance to win the MVP if he keeps up this level of play. The 49ers need him to keep it up, because he's carrying the team right now.

RUNNING BACKS: A-MINUS

Christian McCaffrey rushed just 15 times, but averaged 5 yards per carry and scored a touchdown, which means the reduced workload is having a positive impact on his performance. Kaelon Black averaged just 4.3 yards per carry and still might be bothered by an adductor strain. Kyle Juszczyk, who got fined twice last week for illegal celebrations, caught no passes today.

WIDE RECEIVERS: B

Mike Evans took a big hit to the ribs on the 49ers' second offensive play, stayed in the game, caught a 23-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter, then collapsed on the field late in the second quarter while he struggled to breathe. According to Ian Rapoport, Evans has a rib strain, which is extremely painful and can take up to six weeks to heal. Without Evans, the 49ers' best wide receiver was Jordan Watkins, who had two catches for 60 yards. Deebo Samuel technically had 0 catches, but he also had an 80-yard touchdown on a hook-and-ladder play, plus he had 14 rushing yards on two carries. In hindsight, his touchdown was the difference in the game. He's not the wide receiver he once was, but he's still dangerous when used correctly, and if anyone knows how to use him correctly, it's Kyle Shanahan.

TIGHT ENDS: A

Mike Evans went down, and someone had to step up and become the new No. 1 option in the passing game. Of course, the player who stepped up was George Kittle, who finished the game with 6 catches for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns. This man tore his Achilles just eight months ago, and he's back to playing at a Hall-of-Fame level already. He's not human.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: A

The offense averaged 6.1 yards per carry and took zero sacks, and that was without Trent Williams for most of the second half. It's incredible how offensive line coach Chris Foerster gets this band of misfits to punch above their weight every week. He's the most underrated coach on the team.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: B-MINUS

Kris Kocurek is a pretty good position coach, too. Today, he got a defensive line that's missing six players, including Nick Bosa, to sack Jacoby Brissett twice and limit the Cardinals to just 94 rushing yards on 27 carries (3.4 yards per attempt). Rookie Gracen Halton played particularly well -- he had one tackle for loss and a pass breakup. He clearly is the best healthy rookie on the team right now. Thank goodness they drafted him in Round 4.

LINEBACKERS: B-PLUS

Fred Warner finished the game with a whopping 17 tackles, a quarterback hit, and a tackle for loss. He has to be one of the 10 best players in the NFL regardless of position. He's also one of the greatest 49ers ever. His sidekick, Dre Greenlaw, played well, recording 8 tackles, until he left the game with a quad injury. The 49ers put him back on the field for one play, didn't like what they saw, and shut him down for the rest of the game. Greenlaw had a quad issue last year in Denver that lingered. It's unclear if this quad injury is related. Either way, it's not good. He's another older, injury-prone player who's injured.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: C-MINUS

They didn't give up any long passes, but they did give up 38 completions and two touchdown catches to an offense led by Jacoby Brissett, who scares no one. Both Deommodore Lenoir and Renardo Green left the game temporarily to get checked for concussions before returning. It will be interesting to see if their symptoms pop back up this week. Overall, it's troubling that this group couldn't intercept Brissett once, even though he threw 52 passes. These defensive backs gave big cushions and played conservatively, which makes sense considering the injuries the 49ers defense currently has.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D

Eddy Pineiro made a 57-yard field goal right before halftime -- that was incredible -- but he also missed two extra points, and those misses kept the Cardinals in the game. Pineiro somehow is more accurate at kicking field goals than extra points, which seems impossible, but it's true. In addition, Siran Neal let a punt hit his foot, and the Cardinals recovered, which almost cost the 49ers the game. Fortunately for them, their offense bailed them out.

COACHES: A

Give Raheem Morris credit -- his defense gave up zero explosive plays despite missing six defensive linemen. Sure, the 49ers got murdered in time of possession, but Morris was able to limit the Cardinals rushing attack and force Brissett to check down for most of the game. Hard to ask more from Morris considering what he currently has to work with. He didn't need his defense to take chances to force turnovers. He simply needed his defense to keep the Cardinals out of the end zone as much as possible so the 49ers' offense could win the game, which it did.

Give Kyle Shanahan credit, too. For the third game in a row, he pushed all the right buttons. On the first series of the game, it looked like the offense would go three-and-out, until on third-and-12, Kyle Shanahan called a hook-and-ladder which led to an 82-yard Deebo Samuel touchdown. That playcall took guts and brains in equal measure. Then, in the fourth quarter when his defense was gassed, Shanahan was able to turn to his running game to put away Arizona. Through three weeks, the only coaches in the NFL who have performed nearly as well as Shanahan are Andy Reid, Kevin O'Connell and Klint Kubiak, all of whom are undefeated. The 49ers need Shanahan to continue to coach this well, because they lose at least three keys players to injury seemingly every week. This game was no exception.