San Francisco 49ers: Grading the Week 14 Loss

Ugh, seriously? Now how many of you out there had that same reaction as you sat in stunned silence watching John Skelton take a knee in the victory formation on Sunday?

I know. How ugly. How disappointing. How absolutely, utterly worrisome. 

The Saints are not a team you want to be tied with. That was a much, much bigger loss than I think most people realize. If the 49ers are not one of the top two seeds heading into the playoffs, they may be in trouble.

Everything went wrong today. Even the things that went right went wrong. See? I'm extremely distraught by this loss — I can't even write sensibly.

Here is the unfortunate, pathetic report card for the 49ers' puzzling Week 14 loss against the Cardinals.

Passing Game: C-

A tale of two halves, for sure. Smith looked sharp for most of the first half, when the offense controlled the ball for what seemed like the whole 30 minutes. He was making quick, accurate throws and utilizing my favorite secret weapon in Kyle Williams. 

But in the second half, everything started to unravel. It wasn't always his fault. But overall, he just didn't play a great game. 

It seemed like when it was a catchable pass, the receiver dropped it. (Yeah, I'm looking at you Kendall Hunter on the final play!) And when a receiver was wide open, Smith made a bad throw. 

Either way, you can't argue with a completion percentage south of 50 and a QB rating that wasn't much better. 

And the O-line didn't do much to help; four sacks in the first half, five total and it would have been a lot more if Smith didn't have moves like Jagger, juking his way out of tackles and finding ways to scramble and keep some broken plays alive.

Overall, just a pretty awful game from a passing standpoint.

Running Game: B

Thank goodness Frank Gore busted that nice big touchdown run in the second half. First of all, the rushing stats on the day would have been pretty mediocre if he didn't. But also it's a lot easier to swallow the loss knowing we didn't just settle for a million field goals.

Gore and the running game wasn't a huge focal point for Jim Harbaugh and the other coaches today. They decided to air it out and try to attack rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson. I don't necessarily blame them. It worked like magic in the teams' first meeting. 

But with Gore only getting 10 carries all game, I'm not surprised the Niners weren't able to score in the red zone. I'm really starting to get worried about the play-calling and how it will affect them in the playoffs. 

If Gore is getting ignored in the game plan, I do not trust the offensive line to protect Smith enough to produce a playoff win. Get the 49ers' all-time leading rusher INVOLVED MORE!

Front 7: A

Oh, how much Patrick Willis is missed in pass coverage. The run-stopping of this unit is incredible with or without Willis in the lineup. But, Larry Grant is not nearly athletic enough to drop back and cover receivers in the middle of the field.

Beanie Wells went for under two yards per carry. He got the ball 15 times and ran for a measly 27 yards. On one hand, this calls for a celebration! Another game without a 100-yard rusher, still no touchdowns on the ground...so, how exactly do you explain allowing John Skelton to dissect the secondary so well that the 49ers lose this game?

It can't be explained. All I know is I can't wait until next Monday when they can hopefully right the ship and show a national audience why they are legit championship contenders.

If the front seven is the only unit getting an A after the Pittsburgh game, I'm sorry to tell everyone out there, that 21-19 will not be the final score. Playing like this against the Steelers will earn the 49ers a 30-3 loss and a hell firestorm of questions.

On the bright side, Aldon Smith is now sitting at 10.5 sacks. What a beast.

Secondary: D+

Holy smokes. As in they got smoked. Again. Except this time I can't use the "it was Tony Romo" or the "it was Eli Manning" excuse. The 49ers got smoked by John freakin' Skelton. Unforgivable.

I can almost excuse the touchdown to Larry Fitzgerald because that was more a freakishly athletic catch and run by him than anything else. But the other two touchdown drives were just terrible. 

Can we all safely agree now that the zone scheme does not work for this team? Every time we get in a zone scheme it takes the opposing offense about 41 seconds to discover its flaws and expose it.

No further justification for this grade is necessary after seeing these numbers: 19-28, 282 yards, three touchdowns and a QB rating over 100 for Skelton. As the internet socialites say, SMH. SMFH.

Special Teams: A-

It's hard to hold missing a 50-yarder against David Akers, but with the way he's been kicking this season, it's pretty damn hard.  I'm still peeved that the refs allowed such a ridiculously late challenge to ruin a picture-perfect fake field goal. 

By the way, if you go back and watch the replay, they didn't blow the whistle until Andy Lee was up and running with the ball. Killing me zebras!

I really enjoyed seeing Ted Ginn, Jr. get his return swag back on with a near punt-return touchdown and a couple other solid run-backs. 

Unfortunately, three field goals and containment of the Cards' explosive return game doesn't mean jack when the offense was playing with blindfolds on and the secondary was covering the field less than clothes cover bodies in a Ke$ha video.

Coaching: F

Again, this may seem harsh. But failure, especially of this magnitude, starts at the top. Here are my 10 tips for the coaches:

1. Someone teach the DBs how to tackle and/or cover a receiver.

2. Someone teach the O-line how to block.

3. Stop playing zone. IT DOESN'T WORK FOR US.

4. Run the ball. It's not like we have crappy running backs. 

5. Use Vernon Davis, especially in the red zone. Thirty-first in red-zone offense? Can you say early playoff exit?

6. Don't go soft once we cross the opponent's 30-yard line.

7. Please play Kyle Williams.

8. Please play Aldon Smith.

9. Someone teach the O-line how to block.

10. Someone teach the DBs how to tackle and/or cover a receiver.

Yes, I realize two of those are repeats. Can you argue? Just like it was when the 49ers struggled early in the year, the offensive line and secondary are absolutely crippling this team.

Oh, also? That No. 2 seed really does matter. Get the guys psyched up again. Please.

Overall: C-

I really don't want to relive this anymore. I already had to restrain myself in creating the first six slides. Just know this, Niner faithful: The 49ers are a good team. They are are in the playoffs, and they will bounce back before the first round. 

But let's just hope they turn it around in time to not worry about the first round. Or playing anywhere outside of San Francisco for that matter.

Bring on the Steelers!