The 49ers were outmatched Sunday in their 44-23 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and many of their PFF scores reflect the outcome. But there were also a few bright spots in the defeat.
There is something to be said about players coming back after time off, as they often need some time to knock the rust off. Many of the 49ers who returned from time off due to injuries did not give their best performances.
Offensive linemen Aaron Banks and Jake Brendel received the highest PFF grades of their careers, while Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey did not fare as well.
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On the defensive side of the ball, the secondary struggled mightily, with Charvarius “Mooney” Ward retuning from a groin injury and Jimmie Ward playing his first game with a cast protecting the hand that required surgery after breaking a bone in Week 5.
The 49ers' offense, which received a boost of energy from the arrival of Christian McCaffrey, started out strong but was unable to sustain their productivity down the stretch. Jimmy Garoppolo and the offense moved the ball 444 yards, but only came away with 23 points.
Penalties and mistakes have plagued the team through seven weeks. Coach Kyle Shanahan understands that if the club wants to keep their playoff hopes alive, they will need to remedy those issues.
“You just keep holding people accountable,” Shanahan said. “You keep coaching and people have to focus and keep working to get better. There's no magical answer. That's what we do throughout the week. We coach and those guys work and that's what we have to keep doing.”
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers were called for 10 penalties for 80 yards. While the elimination of penalties would not guarantee that the 49ers would walk out of Levi’s Stadium on Sunday with a win, it would at least not have been a blowout loss.
Here are PFF highlights from the 49ers' Week 7 performance:
Offense:
LG Aaron Banks - 91.5
Banks received the highest overall grade of his NFL career. The left guard did not allow a quarterback pressure in 51 pass-blocking snaps, giving him a 77.9 pass-blocking grade. The sophomore lineman was even better in the run game, receiving a 92.0 grade.
LT Trent Williams - 82.8
The All-Pro might have been knocking the rust off in his first game back after a high ankle sprain. Williams allowed the quarterback sack that went for a safety,y but only one other quarterback pressure besides that.
TE George Kittle - 79.8
It was National Tight Ends day, and Kittle had a productive afternoon, catching six of his nine targets for 98 yards. Five of his catches resulted in a first down or touchdown.
C Jake Brendel - 77.4
The center received the highest overall grade of his NFL career. Brendel did not allow any quarterback pressures in 55 pass-blocking snaps.
RT Mike McGlinchey - 59.1
The right tackle could have been dealing with some lingering soreness from the calf contusion he suffered in the club’s Week 6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. McGlinchey allowed four total pressures -- two sacks and two hurries.
RB Christian McCaffrey - 70.9
The 49ers' newest running back played 22 snaps, all on either first or second down. McCaffrey was on the field for eight run plays and 14 pass plays. The Stanford product lined up in the backfield on 15 plays, four in the slot and three out wide.
Defense:
CB Charvarius Ward - 47.5
Ward received his lowest grade overall grade since joining the 49ers. The top-flight cornerback might have been dealing with lingering issues from the groin injury that kept him from finishing the club’s Week 6 contest. Ward allowed catches on all six targets for 104 yards.
S Jimmie Ward - 41.7
The veteran safety played his first game since breaking his hand in Week 5. Ward’s 38.6 coverage grade is his lowest since Week 15 of the 2020 season, allowing catches on all six targets for 42 yards and two touchdowns.
S Tashaun Gipson - 38.2
Gipson’s 43.7 coverage grade is his lowest since joining the 49ers, allowing catches on four of six targets for 100 yards. The veteran safety had allowed just 44 yards in coverage when targeted all season prior to Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs.
DL Nick Bosa - 69.1
Bosa was the only member of the 49ers' defense who recorded a sack on Sunday. The star pass rusher’s overall grade was hurt by two offsides penalties, but he registered one sack, one hurry, and three run stops, giving him a 79.4 grade against the run.
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Other stats:
- DL Charles Omenihu - three hurries
- DL Kevin Givens - one hit, two hurries
- DL Drake Jackson - one hit, one hurry
- DL Samson Ebukam - two hurries
- LB Fred Warner - one hurry
- DL Kerry Hyder - one hurry, one tipped pass
Safety Talanoa Hufanga missed two tackles while cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and safety Jimmie Ward all missed one each.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was able to convert six of the seven third downs he faced, moving the ball 183 yards on those plays, including one touchdown and one interception. Mahomes was under pressure on 11 of his 35 dropbacks, and when kept clean, he had a perfect passer rating (158.3) completing 21 of his 24 attempts for 367 yards and three touchdowns.