49ers 24, Bills 34: Grades

The 49ers made Bills quarterback Josh Allen look like John Freaking Elway.

Allen completed a whopping 80 percent of his throws during the 49ers 34-24 loss Monday night. They couldn’t pressure him or contest his throws or make him sweat. Embarrassing. And now, the 49ers are 5-7, and they have to win the rest of their games just to have a chance to make the playoffs.

Good luck with that.

Here are the 49ers grades for their loss to the Bills.

QUARTERBACK: A-MINUS.

Mullens was not the reason the 49ers lost. He actually played quite well. He played from behind most of the night, and the 49ers ran the ball only 21 times, so he had to put the offense on his back. He consistently had to buy time and extend plays behind a shaky offensive line. And he still threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw two picks, and one of them was in the red zone, and that’s bad. But the other interception hit Brandon Aiyuk in the hands, and Aiyuk literally threw the ball to the Bills who intercepted it. That was Aiyuk’s fault, not Mullens. Take away that pick, and Mullens’ quarterback rating was 115. What more do you want from him? He consistently out produces the money the 49ers pay him.

RUNNING BACKS: A-MINUS.

Kyle Juszczyk caught a touchdown pass -- he’s terrific. And Jeff Wilson Jr. was fantastic -- he averaged 6.7 yards per carry. And Raheem Mostert was good, too -- he averaged 4.7 yards per carry. But Kyle Shanahan abandoned the run when he fell behind, and the 49ers became one-dimensional. Can’t blame the running backs for that.

WIDE RECEIVERS: B-MINUS.

Kendrick Bourne fought his heart out all game. Deebo Samuel had 76 yards from scrimmage but was a virtual non-factor until garbage time, plus he dropped a ball. He’s a fantastic receiver for a running back. Rookie Brandon Aiyuk is a fantastic wide receiver -- he had 95 yards and a touchdown. But he also was responsible for an interception. Rookie mistake, and a big one.

TIGHT ENDS: A.

Jordan Reed caught a touchdown pass, and Ross Dwelley and Charlie Woerner caught passes as well. All three tight ends contributed and played well. Still, the 49ers sure missed George Kittles.

OFFENSIVE LINE: C.

Mike McGlinchey flopped up and down the field like he usually does, and Laken Tomlinson almost tackled Jeff Wilson Jr. once, but Wilson broke the tackle and ran for a long gain. Collectively, this group gave up seven hits on the quarterback. The 49ers now have given up 61 quarterback hits this season, or more than five a game. They lead the league in that statistic. Pathetic.

DEFENSIVE LINE: D.

Their only effective pass rusher was Dion Jordan, which means they had no pass rush. Kerry Hyder and Javon Kinlaw were ineffective, and Arik Armstead was invisible once again. He is a glorified Solomon Thomas. He has just one quarterback hit since Week 4. The 49ers are paying him to rush the quarterback. Do something, Arik.

LINEBACKERS: C.

They helped limit the Bills to just three yards per carry, and Fred Warner recovered a fumble. He also intercepted a pass that got called back because Richard Sherman committed defensive pass interference during the play. So the linebackers weren’t terrible. But they broke up zero passes that counted.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: F-MINUS.

They gave up 113 freaking yards to Cole Beasley in the first half alone because Dontae Johnson is a terrible nickelback. The 49ers really missed Emmanuel Moseley, Jamar Taylor and K’Waun Williams -- their top three nickelbacks. The middle of the defense was wide open all night. And then Richard Sherman made matters worse. He stinks in man-to-man coverage, so he forces defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to call vanilla, predictable zone coverages, and good quarterbacks shred it. Sherman needs to move to safety or his career will end soon. And Jason Verrett was even worse than Sherman. And Tarvarius Moore was worse than both of them. Moore gave up a touchdown catch and a big play. He doesn’t even seem to know the play half the time. He plays like a rookie.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A.

Brandon Aiyuk returned one punt and gained 16 yards. He looked like a natural. He should have been returning punts all season.

COACHES: C.

Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh are excellent coaches who get the most out of their players. And both Shanahan and Saleh were at a disadvantage in this game. Shanahan was missing his starting quarterback and his best player, George Kittle. And Saleh was missing his edge rushers and his top-three nickelbacks. So in that sense, the coaching was fine. But both Shanahan and Saleh are better than they coached in this game.

Let’s start with Saleh. He mostly called zone coverage even though it didn’t work and Allen completed 80 percent of his passes. Saleh called zone to help Sherman. But it’s much harder to blitz when playing zone coverage than when playing man. And the 49ers needed to blitz to generate pressure. And you have to generate pressure. You can’t let a quarterback stand in the pocket and pick you apart. Saleh needs to call what’s best for the defense, not what’s best for Sherman. If Sherman gets torched, oh well. The rest of the defense gets torched when it plays zone every snap. Stop propping up Sherman.

Now let’s discuss Shanahan. He produced 24 points, which is more than I expected. But the 49ers should have scored more. Shanahan was too conservative. The offense was painfully slow between plays, which gave the Bills defense a chance to catch its breath and line up properly. When the 49ers went to a hurry-up no-huddle offense, they marched the ball down the field with ease. But they didn’t go to the no-huddle consistently until garbage time. If you’re going to play Nick Mullens, play to his strengths. He clearly is at his best in a hurry-up offense. Let him run it, Kyle. What do you have to lose?

And don’t call anymore quarterback sneaks this season. Your offensive line is soft and your quarterback is tiny. Call anything else.

And don’t ask Aiyuk to block down on a defensive end ever again. That’s an impossible block for him.

QUALITY CONTROL: A-PLUS.

I told the 49ers to make Aiyuk the punt returner, and they did.

I told the 49ers to get the ball to Juszczyk, and he scored a touchdown.

I told the 49ers to go with a no-huddle offense, and they did, but not frequently enough.

I warned the 49ers how Sherman would hurt the defense, and I was right, but they had to play him anyway because of injuries.

I was phenomenal -- why be modest? But I can’t do everything. The coaches and players have to execute the way I execute all the time.

Execution is key.