San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks: Full Report Card Grades for 49ers
The 49ers met their match today and were blown out for the second consecutive week, losing to the Seattle Seahawks 37-18. A game that seemed out of reach from the very first moments of the first-quarter it was the Seahawks who held the lead and never looked back.
A deja vu moment as another backup Seahawks running back shredded the 49ers defense at CenturyLink Field, it was the play of RB Christine Michael who had a fantasy stud day by scoring twice on 106 rushing yards.
Quarterback
1 of 9
Quarterback
49ers QB Blaine Gabbert was downright awful. After completing just 17 of 36 passes (47%) for 243 yards against the Carolina Panthers, Gabbert's inaccuracy was once again his downfall as he faced the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle's defensive unit kept everything in front of them while recording one interception. Gabbert, for his part, proved once again that his intermediate passing game is no better than backup Colin Kaepernick's. Gabbert was fundamentally flawed throughout the game. He forced balls into double-coverage and failed to establish new launching points, resulting in a stat line of 14 for 25 passes with 119 passing yards.
Grade: F
Running Back
2 of 9
San Francisco RB Carlos Hyde's debut at CenturyLink was a good one, rushing 6 times for 55 yards his rookie season. In his second time around, though, Hyde was bottled up early and often. A running back is only as good as the team's offensive line, and Hyde had nowhere to run.
Hyde was essentially a non-factor despite two late touchdowns in the fourth-quarter, finishing with 21 carries for 103 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.
On the surface it looked like Hyde had a nice day running the ball, but the majority of that yardage came when the game was already out of reach.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver/Tight End
3 of 9
The tight ends were a non-factor. TE Vance McDonald left the game with a hip injury in the first half and the unit as a whole accounted for just five catches for 29 yards.
The wide receivers fared no better as the leading receiver was WR Torrey Smith who hauled in 3 catches for 35 yards.
Grade: F
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Offensive Line
4 of 9
It's clear that this offensive line is exponentially better than last season. However, it wasn't good enough as the unit was unable to generate a sound running game. Just one week after failing to open up running lanes for Hyde against the Panthers, the 49ers struggled once again, despite rushing for 135 yards (a chunk of that yardage coming in garbage time). That's not going to get the job done.
On a brighter side, the offensive line did do a good job of keeping a clean pocket in pass-protection, so it wasn't all bad for the 49ers up front.
Grade: C
Defensive Line
5 of 9
The 49ers defensive line could not get off their blocks, and as a result allowed backup RB Christine Michael to rush for 106 yards on 20 carries. To make matter worse, the team was unable to keep Michael out of the end zone as Michael scored twice. Combine that with the defensive line's inability to generate an organic pass rush and you have a recipe for disaster.
Grade: F
Linebackers
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If there was an MVP on the defensive side, the game ball would definitely go to 49ers OLB Ahmad Brooks as he finished with four tackles (two for loss), one sack and two pass break-ups. However, there wasn't much else to write home about for the linebacker unit as they failed to set the edge throughout the game, while allowing RB Christine Michael to hit the A and B gaps with ease.
Grade: D
Secondary
7 of 9
The 49ers suffered a huge blow as third-year DB Jimmie Ward was knocked out of the game with a quad injury. A non-contact accident, Ward was seen in nagging pain along the 49ers sidelines and never returned.
The loss was huge and 49ers DC Jim O'Neil had no choice but to roll with the players he had. Free safety Eric Reid was unable to high-point a 40-yard bomb to Seattle TE Jimmy Graham, while San Francisco's cornerbacks failed to stop WR Doug Baldwin. The 49ers struggled and it showed as Graham and Baldwin combined for 14 catches for 264 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Grade : F
Special-Teams
8 of 9
The 49ers special teams failed to show up as well. It was not the best outing for the red and gold, as the special teams were porous throughout. Kicker Phil Dawson missed a 53-yard field attempt, while Seattle receiver Tyler Lockett ran free for a 62-yard punt-return.
Second-year punter Bradley Pinion was the MVP of the unit by driving 7 punts for a 45.6 yard-average, pinning two of those punts inside the Seahawks own 20-yard line.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 9
The 49ers were simply not themselves today and will need to make the necessary adjustments. The game of football is won in all three phases and the 49ers were clearly outmatched.
49ers DC Jim O'Neil needs to apply a consistent pass-rush. One answer may be using rookie fifth-round pick DE Ronald Blair in more exotic packages or simply blitzing the outside linebackers more off the edge on early downs. Whatever the case may be, something needs to be done as these cornerbacks are not getting it done on an island.
Grade: D
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