Maiocco’s 49ers report card: Team grades in sloppy loss to Dolphins Originally published NBC Sports Bay Area
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — The 49ers’ NFL playoff hopes officially ended on a day that unofficially wrapped up their entire season.
“It’s happened too many times this year,” 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa said. “When it rains, it pours.”
The 49ers repeatedly made critical mistakes in every facet of the game. Their loss was 29-17 Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium for the Miami Dolphins.
The fouls included 11 penalties, including three flags for unnecessary roughness.
“When you have that many penalties, it’s a loss driver,” Bosa said.
Here’s the report card for the 49ers’ Week 16 game against the Dolphins:
Crime of haste
running back Patrick Taylor started. After injuries to Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason and Isaac Gorendo. Taylor didn’t get much further than the opening drive of the game.
Taylor had no gain on a third-and-1 play for a three-and-out on the game’s opening drive. He finished the game with just 24 yards on eight rushing attempts.
Brock Purdy was the team’s leading rusher with 26 yards on four scrambles. Debo Samuel added 25 rushing yards on five attempts.
Grade: D
Passing offense
Purdy was having a solid day throwing when he was hit, contributing to a key interception in the fourth quarter.
Nick Zakilj failed to pick up Kelis Campbell on a stunt, leading to the game being thrown out.
Purdy finished with 26 completions on 40 attempts for 313 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
George Kittle had eight catches for 106 yards while Samuel had seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Ricky Pearsall had four catches for 37 yards but was called for standing in an illegal formation to end a first-and-goal situation in the third quarter.
Grade: C plus
Quick defense
Yards on the ground were easy for the Dolphins, as they controlled the line of scrimmage in the second half.
DeVon Achane had a big day with 120 yards on 17 carries, including a 50-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory.
As a team, the Dolphins gained 166 yards on 30 carries for a 5.5-yard average.
Grade: D-minus
Passing Defense
Tua Tagovailoa picked off the 49ers with short, timing passes. The 49ers couldn’t add much to the pass rush with Malik Collins the only quarterback hit in the game.
The 49ers did well against Tyreek Hill, one of the top receivers in the game. He caught just three passes for 29 yards.
Rookie cornerback Renardo Green intercepted a touchdown with a pass breakup against Hill in the end zone.
But the 49ers struggled against Achane and struggled hard against Jonnu Smith. Achane had seven catches for 70 yards, while Smith had six receptions for 62 yards.
Grade: C-minus
Special teams.
Special teams have been an issue all season, and Sunday was no different.
There was only one glaring error, but it kept the points off the board.
Kicker Jake Moody missed a 41-yard field goal wide left in the third quarter.
He is now 23 of 30 on field goal attempts this season. He made a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Grade: D
Coaching
Kittle made a point to blame the 49ers’ coaching staff for the load of penalties. He said that it is all on the players that they are not doing their job.
But, of course, there’s plenty of blame to go around. And that includes coaches.
Once again, the right moves at the right time were not made to win a very winnable game.
Grade: D
Overall
This game was the story of the 49ers’ season. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw left early with an injury to his right calf. The 49ers lost two starting offensive linemen, and that proved costly as well.
The 49ers were sloppy in all areas. Six of their penalties came on offense. Some of these punishments came at the most inopportune times.
And, once again, the 49ers couldn’t generate a takeaway while turning it over once.
Grade: D-minus
