Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers offense was rolling on Sunday. You have to understand how much Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan care about punter Thomas Morestead, since they made sure he got an extra week of rest after the bye for the stretch run by not punting at all. Selfless act by Purdy and the entire 49ers offense. The 49ers quarterback was in control all game and looked his best moving around and scrambling.
The concern comes in with the defense. Yes, the game was a blowout, but the missed tackles issue is still there, and the defense allowed a big man touchdown to Jeffrey Simmons. Cam Ward was the most sacked quarterback in the NFL and didn’t go down once. However you slice it, the 49ers notched their tenth win and nearly put up 40 on Sunday. Will defensive performances like Sunday’s fly down the stretch and the playoffs? That’s another story.
Let’s look at the snap counts and grades for the 49ers, according to Pro Football Focus.
Offense
Quarterback
Brock Purdy 74 (91.0)
23/30, 295 yards, 9.8 YPA, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, 5.9% BTT, zero TWP, 20 first downs, and a 140.3 NFL QB rating. That’ll do, Brock. To go with the flashy throwing numbers, 44 rushing yards. Purdy added a season-long 26-yard run on Sunday. The 49ers don’t need Purdy to turn into Michael Vick, but his mobility and ability to gain yards when receivers are covered to continue drives are key. Purdy looked as close to fully healthy as possible.
Running Back
Christian McCaffrey 62 (58.4)
Kyle Juszczyk 46 (59.7)
Brian Robinson 12 (41.9)
McCaffrey popped up on the injury report with a back injury very late in the week, but the injury didn’t slow McCaffrey down from touching the ball 23 times for 87 yards and a touchdown. Seventy of McCaffrey’s 73 yards came after contact. The story was his ability to make it through the game without aggravating the injury, and he should be good to go for the stretch run.
Wide Receiver
Jauan Jennings 60 (70.1)
Ricky Pearsall 43 (88.0)
Kendrick Bourne 33 (61.0)
Demarcus Robinson 23 (87.6)
Two more touchdowns for Jennings and three straight games hauling in a touchdown. Ricky Pearsall returned to the box score in a big way, but battled injuries throughout the day, with a chance he can miss Monday night’s matchup in Indianapolis. It was good to see Pearsall catch six passes for 96 yards and flash his form from the beginning of the season. Kendrick Bourne remains one yard away from his 500k bonus. Get him a screen pass on Monday and get him paid, Kyle.
Tight End
George Kittle 71 (89.8)
Luke Farrell 18 (67.4)
Jake Tonges 2 (60.0)
Kittle continued his fine season with another touchdown and led all receivers with 4.2 yards after catch over expected per Next Gen Stats. Adding to his 88 yards on eight catches, Kittle finished with a 76.7 pass blocking grade and 70.3 run blocking grade. Kittle has topped...
