49ers report card: No shortage of culprits in largest loss ever to Packers
GREEN BAY, Wisc. — Here is how the 49ers (5-6) graded in Sunday’s 38-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers (8-3):
PASS OFFENSE: D
Brandon Allen’s spot start in place of Brock Purdy officially went kablooey in the second half, when Deebo Samuel deflected a pass that got intercepted and when Allen fumbled on a fourth-quarter sack. He was 17-of-29 for 199 yards, and he wisely sought out George Kittle, who returned from a one-game hiatus (hamstring) to catch all six targets, with a 3-yard touchdown grab pulling the 49ers within 17-7 before halftime. Samuel’s downward season saw him drop two passes; his lone catch on four targets came on a trick play that began with him running a reverse to Ricky Pearsall, who flipped the ball to Allen for then a 21-yard catch-and-run by Samuel. Jaylon Moore started in place of left tackle Trent Williams, but the line’s bigger issue was its four penalties, three on Dominick Puni.
RUN OFFENSE: F
Christian McCaffrey’s third game was not the charm. He gained 31 yards on 11 carries, the longest going for nine yards. He fumbled on his final touch, a 23-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter with the 49ers down 31-10. Jordan Mason wasn’t summoned until the final two series, and he fumbled on the game’s final play; the 49ers fumbled five times and lost two of them.
PASS DEFENSE: D+
Jordan Love may have only completed 13-of-23 passes for 163 yards, but he converted four third-down passes, including three on the Packers’ second touchdown drive. With Nick Bosa missing his first game this season, the 49ers’ best pass rush came from Leonard Floyd (two sacks). They made no interceptions for the second time in three games, all of which Charvarius Ward missed.
RUN DEFENSE: F
Yielding 125 rushing yards by halftime was a killer. In the end, the 49ers gave up 169 yards (42 carries, 4.0-yard average) to match the total Arizona racked up, but falling short of the 184-yard output Kansas City waxed on the 49ers last month. Simply, the 49ers’ run defense played terribly, with Shanahan citing missed tackles and poor gap integrity. He also noted that Jordan Elliott’s exit to a concussion played a factor. The 49ers also gave credit, as they should, to Josh Jacobs, who ran for 106 yards and scored all three of his touchdowns on 1-yard runs. It’s a bad sign when Fred Warner isn’t the leading tackler and had just six tackles. Defensive backs Isaac Yiadom and Malik Mustapha each had nine tackles.
SPECIAL TEAMS: D
Penalties ruined great returns. Deebo Samuel’s 87-yard kick return to the Packers’ 8-yard line got called back because of an Eric Saubert holding penalty. More holding penalties, on George Odum and Nick McCloud, stymied two punt returns by Ricky Pearsall, who made a clean debut in that role while Jacob Cowing (concussion) was out. Jake Moody made his only field-goal attempt (48 yards) and would have no shot at matching Robbie Gould’s walk-off magic at Lambeau Field in the January 2022 playoffs. Isaac Guerendo fumbled on a kick return for the second time this season, only this time Chris Conley recovered for the 49ers.
COACHING: F
Getting back-to-back penalties for having 12 defenders on the field was appalling, and while the buck stops with Kyle Shanahan, Nick Sorensen’s first year as defensive coordinator is going sideways fast. This was the 49ers’ most lopsided road loss under Shanahan, which, honestly, shouldn’t be surprising considering they were without Purdy, Williams, Bosa and on and on. They may be just a game below .500 but the trend of penalties, turnovers and injuries are neon signs that this is not a good team.