San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots: Full Report Card Grades for 49ers
New England Patriots star Tom Brady proved exactly why he's a first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback in the win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
From throwing two first-half touchdowns to scoring two more in the second half, Brady played lights out in his homecoming game. A home-field advantage as there were far more Patriots fans than 49ers fans, Brady would finish completing 24 of 40 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns (114.6 QB rating, per ESPN).
The 49ers couldn't match that type of production on both sides of the ball. Their offense was unable to move the chains, and the defense couldn't stop the run or intermediate passing game. Ultimately that was their downfall, as the Patriots won 30-17.
Quarterback
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San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick was extremely erratic on Sunday. From finding TE Vance McDonald down the seams to throwing a nice touch pass to RB Shaun Draughn, he brought better play to kick off the first half.
The 29-year-old made few mental errors aside from throwing a few balls behind receivers while making the proper reads. That's where the positive news ends, though.
Kaepernick continues to be extremely inconsistent downfield while making ill-advised throws. One play in particular was where he scrambled right, threw off his back foot across the grain. That's not good football.
Despite his respectable stat line, Kaepernick struggled―completing 16 of 30 for 206 yards and two touchdowns.
Grade: B
Running Back
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Workhorse running back Carlos Hyde played relatively well despite not reaching the end zone for the 49ers.
The 25-year-old made plenty of tacklers miss while racking up nice yardage after initial contact―a good sign of a running back who displays a good combination of vision, agility and speed.
Hyde proved why he was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by racking up 19 carries for 86 yards.
Grade: B+
Offensive Line
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The 49ers offensive line allowed five sacks. So the question remains: How in the world did Kaepernick have such a good day?
Well, thanks to the team's efficient rushing attack by Hyde, the team was able to win their battles in other ways.
That said, the 49ers offensive line struggled as Kaepernick was blindsided twice, resulting in two fumbles where RT Trent Brown recovered.
That's not the best output for this offensive line, and they will surely need to clean up their pass-pro mistakes.
Grade: D
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Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
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The only player who made any type of significant impact in the passing game was TE Vance McDonald, but that's not saying much.
The Rice product would finish the game by hauling in three catches for 46 yards. No other wide receiver caught more than one ball until midway through the fourth quarter.
To put those numbers in perspective, the 49ers wide receivers would finish as a unit combining
Grade: D
Defensive Line
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The 49ers defensive line showed life by containing Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson to 55 rushing yards last week.
This week was a different story as Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount pounded the rock between the tackles resulting in big plays up the middle, including a 44-yard run.
The 49ers defense had no answers for the Oregon product, who racked up 16 carries for 123 yards (7.7 average). Combine that with little to no pass rush on Brady's 40 dropbacks and you have a loss coming your way.
Grade: C
Linebackers
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The 49ers linebackers did little in the run game or passing game to warrant a passing grade from me.
Sure, OLB Ahmad Brooks racked up a 1.0 sack, but other than that―and a few plays sprinkled in where OLB Eli Harold helped set the edge in run support―there wasn't much to be impressed with.
Grade: C
Secondary
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Four: That's the number of touchdowns the 49ers secondary allowed on the day, and all four were different receivers.
Combine that with 280 passing yards by Brady, and you have a bad day for this 49ers unit.
Brady made some good plays to extend drives, but ultimately it's the secondary's responsibility to keep points off the board. They couldn't do it.
Grade: F
Special Teams
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The 49ers K Phil Dawson made history by connecting on his 400th career field goal.
The good news stops there as P Bradley Pinion had eight chances to punt the ball inside the opponent's 20-yard line only to come up empty-handed.
Grade: C
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