SANTA CLARA — Quarterback Brock Purdy graded out just fine for his first meaningful experience at the professional level.
The 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins, 33-17, and Purdy did his part after taking over for starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who sustained a season-ending foot fracture.
“Just because we won doesn’t mean I’m on Cloud 9,” Purdy said. “I want to get better and I have to for this team moving forward.”
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Purdy does not have to do it alone, and he certainly was no one-man band in the 49ers' win over the Dolphins.
Here is a look at the 49ers’ report card from their Week 13 game at Levi’s Stadium:
Rushing offense
Again, Christian McCaffrey began the day with a difficult time finding any room to run against a loaded line of scrimmage. But as the game wore on, so did McCafrrey’s success. After gaining just 32 yards on 12 carries in the first half, he ended up with 66 yards on 17 rushing attempts.
San Francisco 49ers
Backup running back Jordan Mason, a rookie, contributed 51 yards on eight carries and showed why he has earned playing time over third-round draft pick Ty Davis-Price. The 49ers picked up six first downs on the ground, possessing the ball for more than 40 minutes.
Grade: B
Passing offense
Purdy was pressed into service after Garoppolo left after one series with a left foot injury. He played with Garoppolo-like efficiency.
Purdy did a good job of managing the 49ers’ offense in the first half. His first drive resulted in a touchdown, and the final drive before halftime also concluded in the end zone. Purdy had 3-yard touchdown passes to Kyle Juszczyk and McCaffrey.
Purdy did everything asked of him. He completed 25 of 37 passes for 210 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Grade: B-plus
Rushing defense
The 49ers’ top-ranked run defense made the Dolphins become one-dimensional. Former 49ers running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. found it difficult to get anything going.
And the Dolphins did not even try to stick with their running game.
Mostert had 30 yards on seven carries, and Wilson had just one carry for 3 yards. Those were the only two Miami players to have rushing attempts.
Grade: A
Passing defense
The game could not have started any worse for the 49ers, who experienced confusion in the defensive backfield on the first snap of the game. Dolphins receiver Trent Sherfield took advantage of the blown coverage to score on a 75-yard pass from Tua Tagovailoa.
After that, the 49ers’ defense settled down, and defensive end Nick Bosa turned up the heat on Tagovailoa with three sacks, including a sack-strip that resulted in Dre Greenlaw’s game-clinching fumble return for a touchdown.
Jimmie Ward, Deommodore Lenoir and Fred Warner had interceptions, and the Dolphins were 0-for-7 on third downs. Greenlaw made a terrific play to break up a fourth-down pass for tight end Mike Gesicki in the fourth quarter.
The 49ers stymied the Dolphins’ potent third-down offense as Miami was 0-for-7 in those situations.
Grade: A-minus
Special teams
Robbie Gould gave the 49ers a nine-point lead inside of two minutes with a clutch 48-yard field goal. He also made field goals of 47 and 36 yards.
Punter Mitch Wishnowsky had a 44.5 average on four punts (net average of 39.3).
Ray-Ray McCloud had a 20-yard punt return that helped set up the 49ers’ first touchdown of the game.
Grade: A-minus
Coaching
The 49ers had to adjust on the fly after Garoppolo was lost due to a foot injury in the first quarter. Purdy stepped into the huddle, and the team functioned well — other than some play clock issues that forced them to burn a few timeouts.
Coach Kyle Shanahan had two important challenges to overturn Dolphins pass completions, including on a fourth-down play with six minutes left in the game.
The defense gave up a couple of big plays. Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans got things back on track, and they ended up making more big plays than they surrendered.
Grade: A-minus
Overall
The 49ers dominated this game on third downs and in the turnover category. The 49ers came up with four takeaways with no giveaways.
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It was an impressive victory, considering many players found out the severity of Garoppolo’s injury at halftime.
It was a downcast group of players in the winning locker room. And even the victory with a well-balanced team effort did not make them feel a whole lot better.
Grade: A