Grading 49ers' offense, defense in complete win over Bucs

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers reported more than their fair share of injuries coming out of a 35-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But even with uncertainty with several players, including wide receiver Deebo Samuel, the 49ers were feeling mighty good about their new quarterback and their overall team performance.

“We got a quarterback,” 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa said of rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, who became the first quarterback to earn his first NFL victory against a Tom Brady-led team.

He had quite a day, and so did a lot of his teammates.

Here is a look at the 49ers’ report card from their thorough Week 14 victory over Tampa Bay at Levi’s Stadium:

Rushing offense

The 49ers tried to soften the Bucs’ defense with their emphasis on the passing game to open the game. Christian McCaffrey got his first carry on the 49ers’ fifth play from scrimmage and he tore off a 21-yard run.

The 49ers controlled the game on the ground, rushing for 209 yards and three touchdowns on 36 attempts.

Samuel got the 49ers on the board when he took a pitch, turned the corner and somehow got into the end zone.

McCaffrey put the game away with a 38-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. He finished with 119 yards on 14 rushes. Rookie Jordan Mason came on and added 56 yards on 11 rushes.

Grade: A

Passing offense

Purdy did everything the 49ers’ asked of him in his first NFL start . . . and then some.

He showed his movement skills early in the second quarter when he scrambled 2 yards for a touchdown. On the 49ers’ next offensive play, he escaped the rush and found Samuel for an 18-yard competition.

Purdy finished with 16 completions on 21 attempts for 185 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions thrown. He had a 27-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey and a 32-yarder to Brandon Aiyuk.

The 49ers’ offensive line protected Purdy well, as he was not sacked in the game.

Grade: A

Rushing defense

The Buccaneers averaged 3.6 yards per carry, and the 49ers made Tampa Bay one-dimensional. Rachaad White gained 56 yards on 13 attempts while Leonard Fournette was an absolute non-factor with 13 yards on four attempts.

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw was all over the place for the 49ers’ defense with 15 tackles.

Late in the game, the 49ers generated a third takeaway of the game when Jimmie Ward forced a fumble of White and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair came up with the fumble recovery.

Grade: A

Passing defense

Tom Brady had a rough, rough day against the 49ers’ defense.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion threw for 253 yards against the 49ers’ defense, but he lost a lot of skin to get there.

Brady completed 34 of 55 pass attempts with one touchdown pass and two interceptions thrown. Tashaun Gipson and Greenlaw registered interceptions, as Brady’s passer rating for the game was a lowly 63.7.

The 49ers did not pick up a sack against Brady, who stuck with the short-passing game. But San Francisco got enough pressure on him to make things extremely difficult.

Grade: A

Special teams

Robbie Gould was called up for extra points, not field goals. And nobody with the 49ers was complaining about that turn of events.

Return man Ray-Ray McCloud had a good day with a 14.3-yard average on three punts and 27.0 average on two kickoffs.

Punter Mitch Wishnowsky had 44.7 average (37.7 net) on three punts).

Grade: A

Coaching

The 49ers installed strong game plans on offense and defense against the NFC South-leading Buccaneers.

Coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense made best use of Purdy’s skills in running the offense. He saw something in the second quarter that prompted him to call a play that was not in the game plan. The result was Purdy’s 32-yard touchdown pass on a double-move.

Defensively, the 49ers kept Brady bottled up and took away any ability of the Bucs to make big plays.

Grade: A

Overall

The 49ers and Buccaneers are two teams who appear to be heading toward the playoffs.

The 49ers left no doubt on Sunday, racing out to a 35-0 lead and clamping down for the final 29 minutes of the game.

RELATED: Where 49ers stand in NFC playoff picture after Week 14

The 49ers did not blink after Samuel went down with an ankle injury, as the team showed an ability to keep focused through adversity.

Grade: A

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