The 49ers' PFF grades for their 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Levi's Stadium reveal an alarming trend that the team needs to curtail.
Three turnovers by the offense ultimately made a win impossible for San Francisco, but their 12 missed tackles, following 17 missed the week prior, is a disturbing statistic for a defense that has been routinely touted as one of the best in the league.
49ers missed tackles by week:
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Week 1 vs New York Jets: 9
Week 2 vs. Minnesota Vikings: 3
Week 3 vs. Los Angeles Rams: 2
Week 4 vs. New England Patriots: 17
San Francisco 49ers
Week 5 vs. Arizona Cardinals: 12
On Sunday, according to PFF, defensive end Nick Bosa led the pack with three missed tackles. While the All-Pro had stand-out plays in other areas of the game, including four stops, two pressures and an interception, the pass rusher’s mistakes did not help the defense get off the field.
Rookie safety Malik Mustapha, who came into the game for Talanoa Hufanga after the veteran suffered a wrist injury, missed two tackles as did linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. Hufanga, safety Ji’Ayir Brown, cornerbacks Deommodore Lenoir and Charvarius Ward and defensive tackle Kevin Givens all were charged with one missed tackle apiece.
In the 49ers' Week 4 win over the New England Patriots, Bosa again was charged with three missed tackles as was Campbell. Brown, Lenoir, linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and defensive tackle Maliek Collins were charged with two missed tackles each, while Mustapha, Ward and cornerback Renardo Green each missed a single tackle.
If the 49ers want to keep their playoff hopes alive, they will need to figure out a way to eliminate, or at least reduce the number of tackles being missed in games.
Here are the 49ers' PFF grades for Week 5:
Defense
DL Nick Bosa — 87.9
While the pass rusher was charged with missing three tackles (25.6 tackling grade), Bosa made up for it in other areas. The All-Pro did record four tackles — all solo, four stops, and two hurries.
DL Leonard Floyd — 79.1
The pass rusher recorded three pressures — one sack, one hit, and one hurry while also registering three stops and no missed tackles.
Remaining quarterback pressures:
S Ji’Ayir Brown - one hurry
DL Sam Okuayinonu - one hurry
DL Kevin Givens - one hurry
DL Maliek Collins - one hurry
CB Deommodore Lenoir - 74.3
The cornerback allowed one catch on three targets for three yards and one pass breakup. Lenoir also returned the blocked field goal kick for a touchdown.
CB Isaac Yiadom - 76.4
Yiadom is improving in the 49ers' system, recording two tackles (one assist), one stop, and one forced fumble. The defensive back also allowed one completion on two targets for 14 yards and one pass breakup.
Defensive odds and ends
Cardinals running back James Conner was stopped in the first half, registering only nine yards on six carries, but after halftime, it was a different story. Conner carried the ball 13 times in the second half for 77 yards. 74 of Conner's 86 rushing yards came after contact, and he forced eight missed tackles on the day.
The 49ers blitzed on 12 of Murray's 32 dropbacks (37.5 percent) which is higher than their 31st-ranked rate of 19 percent through the first four games.
Offense
WR Brandon Aiyuk - 90.0
Aiyuk’s overall grade of 90.0 topped the team after catching eight of his 11 targets for 147 receiving yards, six of them resulting in a first down. The wideout caught all three of his targets for 41 yards when lined up in the slot.
TE George Kittle - 72.4
Kittle caught eight of his 12 targets for 64 yards and a touchdown with five of his catches resulting in either a first down or a touchdown.
RB Jordan Mason - 57.2
Mason would have received a much higher score if not for his red-zone fumble in the fourth quarter. The Georgia Tech product registered 14 carries for 86 yards, 72 coming after contact.
Mason currently leads the NFL with 340 rushing yards after contact, 25 missed tackles forced, and 16 runs of 10 or more yards.
QB Brock Purdy - 73.7
Purdy completed 19 of his 35 attempts for 244 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. When using play action, Purdy completed six of his eight attempts for 97 yards and a 115.1 passer rating. Without play action, Purdy completed only 13 of his 27 attempts for 147 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and a 46.4 rating.
Purdy’s sweet spot had been intermediate throws that ranged from 10-19 yards downfield. On Sunday, he only completed eight of his 15 attempts at that distance, or 53.3 percent after completing 10 of 19, or 77.8 percent, through the first four weeks.