49ers 13, Saints 27: Grades

Don’t overreact.

The 49ers lost 27-13 to the New Orleans Saints and now have a record of 4-6 -- that’s bad. And the 49ers essentially gave away the game with two turnovers on special teams. Meaning they blew a golden opportunity to beat a good team. Bad.

But the 49ers were short handed and still competed with a Super Bowl contender and knocked Drew Brees out of the game. That’s good. And now, the 49ers have a bye week coming up and quality players returning.

The 49ers aren’t dead yet. They fought hard today, and I’m telling you they’re going on a run after the bye week. Watch.

With that in mind, here are the 49ers’ grades.

QUARTERBACK: C.

Nick Mullens played as you would expect he’d play with no run game or pass protection. He made some nice throws, but also made some bad decisions and threw two interceptions in the red zone. Plus Mullens took a beating and had to leave the game for one play. He isn’t talented enough to overcome poor pass protection when the offense is one-dimensional, but we knew that already. He should play much better after the bye week if Deebo Samuel and Raheem Mostert return. Mullens never has played with both of them at the same time, and they’re the MVPs of the 49ers offense.

RUNNING BACKS: D.

Jerick McKinnon has nothing left. He’s not quick or fast, and he can’t block. He gave up two sacks today and averaged just 1.8 yards per carry. The 49ers would have been better off giving his carries to anyone else -- JaMycal Hasty, Austin Walter, Kyle Juszczyk -- anyone. But those three combined to run just five times, and McKinnon ran 18 times. Plus Hasty broke his collarbone in the second half. The 49ers need Mostert back A.S.A.P. At this point, they’d benefit from Tevin Coleman’s return.

WIDE RECEIVERS: A.

Brandon Aiyuk already looks like a Pro Bowler. Every time he gets the ball, it seems he breaks a tackle or makes a defender miss. In this game, he had 7 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Whoever the 49ers draft to play quarterback next year will freaking love throwing to Aiyuk. But he wasn’t the only good wide receiver on the 49ers. Kendrick Bourne made some clutch catches on third down, and Richie James Jr. made three grabs.

TIGHT ENDS: B-PLUS.

Jordan Reed made a 26-yard catch, and Ross Dwelley made a 22-yard catch. Combined, they made six grabs for 82 yards -- Reed made five of those grabs. Both are terrific receiving tight ends who struggle as blockers. Reed almost never blocks. Dwelley tries, but he committed a holding penalty against the Saints.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: F.

They’re the main reason the 49ers had no run game today, the main reason Mullens struggled, the main reason Jimmy Garoppolo got injured earlier this season and the main reason for the offense’s issues going back to Week 1. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey is elite at not blocking pass rushers. Sometimes he whiffs, other times he falls over -- he has an array of ways to not block people. Right guard Tom Compton can’t even hold his ground when he does block someone. Center Daniel Brunskill isn’t a center. Left guard Laken Tomlinson is overrated. And Trent Williams is pretty good. At least the 49ers have one pretty good offensive lineman. They should probably get a few more this offseason.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: A.

This was their best performance of the season. Javon Kinlaw had 1.5 sacks, Kerry Hyder had 1 sack and Jordan Willis had half of a sack. Even Arik Armstead made a guest appearance and recorded three tackles. And Kentavius Street knocked Drew Brees out of the game with a clean sack the officials called roughing the passer. A disgusting call.

LINEBACKERS: B.

Fred Warner had a rough game, recording only five tackles and giving up a touchdown catch to Alvin Kamara. Dre Greenlaw played well -- he had 11 tackles. And the Saints ran for just 3.8 yards per carry.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: A-MINUS.

Tarvarius Moore started at safety and the 49ers defense didn’t fall apart. In fact, it was fantastic. Moore didn’t make any mistakes or miss any tackles. Instead, he forced a fumble with his elbow while falling backward onto the turf. He’s a natural play maker. And Jimmie Ward is not. Jameis Winston threw a pass right to Ward, and Ward dropped it. He should give his game check to Moore this week.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Z-MINUS.

Blew the game. Muffed three punts, lost two of them and gave up a 75-yard kickoff return. The 49ers need to make Brandon Aiyuk their punt returner and kickoff returner for the rest of the season. More on him later.

COACHES: C.

Robert Saleh was the best coach on the field. He outcoached Sean Payton and Kyle Shanahan. Saleh’s defense held Payton’s offense to just 4.2 yards per play, and allowed only two third-down conversions on 12 tries. Plus the defense injured Brees. It played better against the Saints than it did last season when it had Richard Sherman, Nick Bosa and Dee Ford. Remarkable. Saleh is one of the main reasons the 49ers will go on a run after the bye week. Ditto for Kyle Shanahan, even though he coached poorly against the Saints. First, he didn’t go for it on fourth-and-1 near midfield. Then he did go for it later on fourth and 1, and called a run between the tackles for Jeriick freaking McKinnon instead of Kyle Juszczyk -- barf. And to top it off, Shanahan never found a way to beat a simple nickel blitz. He has lots of work to do over the bye week. But he’s smart and has me to help him, which bodes well for the 49ers.

QUALITY CONTROL: C.

I take full credit for the 49ers starting Moore at safety -- I’ve lobbied for them to start Moore since training camp. And I wrote all week that they would start Moore, because I was trying to speak his promotion into existence. Clearly, I succeeded. Hooray for me. But I forgot to remind Shanahan to make Aiyuk the returner -- that’s my bad. During the bye week, I pledge to work with Shanahan and make sure he plays all his best players the rest of the season.

Meet me at my place, Kyle. I’ll bring the donuts.