Grading the San Francisco 49ers position by position following their 33-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
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00:00 The 49ers just lost 33-19 to the Ravens on Christmas.
00:04 Here are the 49ers grades for this performance.
00:07 Quarterbacks, plural.
00:09 F.
00:10 Brock Purdy had a chance to cement his legacy as an MVP quarterback
00:16 and he played by far the worst game of his career.
00:18 Through four interceptions plus two other passes that nearly got picked,
00:23 plus he got a stinger for the second week in a row,
00:25 left the game, got cleared to play, and still didn't return.
00:28 Which means he may have gotten benched for Sam Darnold, who also threw a pick and isn't good.
00:32 So in a sense, Purdy did cement his legacy.
00:36 Because until he wins a Super Bowl,
00:38 people will remember him as the player who choked in the biggest game of the season.
00:41 He never should have been in the MVP discussion to begin with.
00:44 He absolutely is a product of the 49ers supporting cast
00:48 as opposed to Lamar Jackson who carries the Ravens.
00:51 He should be the MVP.
00:53 Running backs.
00:54 A.
00:58 Christian McCaffrey gained 131 yards from scrimmage,
01:00 scored a touchdown, and averaged a whopping 7.4 yards per carry.
01:04 And yet Kyle Shanahan picked this week of all weeks to lighten his workload and give him just
01:08 14 rushes.
01:09 Absurd.
01:11 If ever there was a time to put the team on McCaffrey's back,
01:14 tonight was the time and Shanahan blew it.
01:17 More on Shanahan in a minute.
01:19 Wide receivers.
01:20 C.
01:21 Brent Nyhuk was outstanding.
01:24 He had 113 yards on 6 catches.
01:26 But Debo Samuel was awful.
01:29 He had 47 receiving yards on 4 catches and 12 targets.
01:33 Yes, he needed 12 targets to make 4 catches.
01:36 Tight ends.
01:37 A.
01:38 George Keel had 126 yards in any number of quality blocks.
01:42 He's the most consistent player on the team.
01:45 Offensive linemen.
01:47 C.
01:48 They got beat up.
01:50 Trent Williams left with a going injury.
01:52 Aaron Banks left with turf toe and Jalen Moore left with a concussion.
01:56 Which means Spencer Burford finished the game as their starting right tackle.
02:00 The Niners need Williams and Banks back pronto or they're going nowhere.
02:04 Defensive linemen.
02:06 D.
02:08 Javon Kinlaw and Javon Hargrave did a good job shutting down the run between the tackles.
02:13 Give them credit.
02:14 But Nick Bosa, Chase Young, and the rest of the defensive ends did a horrible job of containing
02:19 Lamar Jackson in the pocket where he's an indecisive, inaccurate passer.
02:24 For some reason, the defensive ends kept rushing wildly past Jackson and opening up huge lanes for
02:28 him to scramble out of the pocket where he's the most dangerous quarterback in the NFL.
02:33 Maybe if the Niners face Jackson again in the Super Bowl, Bosa and his crew will defend him
02:38 properly.
02:38 Linebackers.
02:40 A.
02:41 Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw combined to record 22 tackles.
02:45 They had to clean up Bosa's mess.
02:47 Defensive backs.
02:48 C.
02:50 They gave up 252 yards to the air at a passer rating of 105.9.
02:55 Special teams.
02:56 C-
02:58 Mitch Wisnowski committed a 15-yard penalty for hitting a punter turner out of bounds.
03:02 I've never seen a punter do that.
03:05 Coaches.
03:06 F.
03:08 Kyle Shanahan lost this game.
03:11 Once again, he choked under pressure.
03:13 All he had to do was stick with the 49ers best running plays and they would have won.
03:18 Instead, he came out passing down the field and trying to win the game with one play.
03:22 That's what you do when you think the opponent is better than you.
03:26 That's what you call when you're nervous.
03:28 And of course, Shanahan transferred his nervousness to his young quarterback,
03:32 Brock Purdy, who had the worst game of his life.
03:34 Shanahan needed to settle Purdy down, but Shanahan couldn't settle himself down.
03:38 He kept throwing haymakers and missing, which hurt the morale of his team.
03:43 All he had to do was call runs to his left for Christian McCaffrey,
03:47 and if these teams meet again in the Super Bowl, you can bet that's what Shanahan will call.
03:50 He won't make the same mistake twice.
03:52 This was his worst game since the NFC Championship against the Eagles when he
03:56 tried to win it in the first quarter by calling a play-action shot downfield
03:59 and nearly got Purdy's arm ripped off.
04:01 Shanahan will have to coach much better for the 49ers to win the Super Bowl.
04:04 He's the biggest question mark on the team.