Maiocco’s 49ers Report Card: Team grades in rough loss to Chiefs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SANTA CLARA — It was more of the same for the 49ers in Week 7.
They experienced more inconsistencies on offense, defense and special teams.
And it was more of the same for the 49ers in their recent history against the Kansas City Chiefs, too.
“There’s no way to sugarcoat that,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We got our ass kicked today.”
That assessment was about all the 49ers got right on Sunday, as Andy Reid’s team came to town and left with a satisfying 28-18 victory at Levi’s Stadium.
The Chiefs remain unbeaten at 6-0, while the 49ers fall to 3-4 on the 2024 NFL season.
Kansas City improved to 5-0 against the 49ers with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. It’s a record that includes two Super Bowl victories.
Here is the 49ers’ report card from their loss to the team that clearly has their number:
Rushing offense
Jordan Mason finished with a nice stat line, rushing for 58 yards on 14 carries.
But the 49ers did not pick up big yards in the first half. Mason was stuffed on two third-and-1 plays.
Quarterback Brock Purdy struggled in the passing game, but he managed to get into the end zone twice on short touchdown runs.
Grade: D-plus
Passing offense
Sure, the 49ers were playing without their top three wide receivers. That accounts for some of their problems, for sure.
But Purdy was completely off his game, as Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo again dialed up to get the better of the 49ers’ offense.
Purdy had a miserable game, completing 17 of 31 pass attempts for 212 yards and no touchdowns with three interceptions. His passer rating was a lowly 36.7. It was his lowest passer rating in 34 career starts, including six games in the postseason.
George Kittle had six receptions for 92 yards. Ricky Pearsall caught three passes for 21 yards and Jacob Cowing had two receptions for 50 yards.
Grade: F
Rushing defense
The 49ers’ run defense simply was not good enough, as Kansas City scored four touchdowns on the ground to pull away in the second half. Again, the 49ers missed too many tackles and took too many bad angles in their pursuit of making stops.
Running back Kareem Hunt gained 78 yards and scored two touchdowns, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes did a lot more damage with his legs than with his arm. Mahomes rushed for 39 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Mecole Hartman put the game out of reach with an 18-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Grade: D
Passing defense
The 49ers would take this kind of stat line against Mahomes any day. Mahomes completed just 16 of 27 pass attempts for 154 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions. His 44.4 passer rating was the lowest of his career.
Defensive tackle Kalia Davis made a remarkable play when he tipped a Mahomes pass at the line of scrimmage and came up with the interception. Later, Deommodore Lenoir picked off Mahomes.
Grade: B-plus
Special teams
Another game, another series of special teams meltdowns for the 49ers.
Kansas City took a 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter with a big help from Hardman’s 55-yard punt return. Tatum Bethune and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles both fell on the play to enable Hardman to find an opening.
New kicker Anders Carlson made a 55-yard field goal but later missed an extra point when he hit the left upright early in the third quarter. At that point, the 49ers trailed 14-12.
It had no bearing on the game, but the 49ers’ special teams ended on an embarrassing note when Mitch Wishnowsky basically whiffed while attempting an onside kick.
There was one positive: The 49ers stopped Kansas City on a first-half fake punt attempt.
Grade: D-minus
Coaching
Shanahan and his staff have not come up with the right answers enough times this season. And this was another case of the 49ers being out-performed all the way around.
Spagnuolo continues to out-scheme Shanahan. The Kansas City defenders had the upper hand against the 49ers, especially on third downs. The 49ers converted just two of 11 third-down attempts (18.2 percent).
And the same goes for the 49ers’ defense. Kansas City’s offense was anything but prolific, but it still managed to move the chains on eight of 14 third downs (57.1 percent).
And, then, there’s special teams.
“We’re going to keep coaching them,” Shanahan said, adding on special teams the 49ers will “continue to work at it and not ignore it.”
Grade: D
Overall
Yes, the 49ers were playing the only unbeaten team in the NFL, so there’s that. But the 49ers put together a thoroughly unimpressive performance on Sunday against the Chiefs.
They were not sharp on offense. And even though their defense generally played well, two offside penalties and a 12-men-on-the-field helped Kansas City on their way to their first touchdown of the game.
It was great for everyone to see Pearsall make his NFL debut, so that was good. That was about the only good thing that came from this game.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk likely sustained a season-ending knee injury, and the 49ers look to be in serious trouble.
Grade: D
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