Maiocco's 49ers Report Card: Team grades in MNF loss to Lions

SANTA CLARA — There was no opportunity to play spoiler on Monday, but the 49ers were up against a Detroit Lions team that sits atop the NFC.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said nothing about the team’s approach changed with the 49ers already eliminated from NFL playoff contention.

“Try to approach it the same way we approach every game, try our hardest to win and try to play our best,” Shanahan said following the 49ers’ 40-34 loss to the Lions at Levi's Stadium.

“I thought the guys played real hard. I thought they competed and had every chance to beat a real good football team there.”

But the 49ers did what they’ve been doing all year. They made crucial mistakes in every phase of the game.

There is no consolation prize.

And there are no great grades for teams that lose — even if the team they lost to has the best record in the NFC (14-2) and will play the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18 with the No. 1 seed on the line.

Here is the report card from the 49ers’ Week 17 game against the Lions:

Rushing offense

The 49ers averaged a respectable 4.2 yards on the ground, but they were not able to get consistent yards and only ran the ball 18 times.

Their two rushing touchdowns came on quarterback scrambles off pass plays. Brock Purdy rushed for a 9-yard score in the first half, and backup Joshua Dobbs had a 7-yard touchdown run late in the game.

Purdy with the pump-fake TD 🥶 pic.twitter.com/NCf6t6xMYJ

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 31, 2024

Isaac Guerendo gained a team-high 34 yards on nine rushing attempts.

Grade: C-minus

Passing Offense

The 49ers’ passing game was really, really good ... until it wasn’t.

Purdy had a perfect passer rating for much of the game. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall had his best game, and tight end George Kittle came through with a big performance, too.

Pearsall set career highs with eight catches for 141 yards and one touchdown. Kittle had eight receptions for 112 yards.

But Purdy’s night ended on a down note with two costly second-half interceptions. Lions safety Kerby Joseph picked him twice in crucial situations.

Zuper Kerb's got two of them‼️

#DETvsSF | 📺 ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/YQOIrROWbA

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 31, 2024

Purdy still managed to throw for a career-high 377 yards on 27-of-35 passing. He had three touchdowns and two interceptions before leaving the game late with an elbow injury.

Grade: B-minus

Rushing Defense

The 49ers’ run defense had no answers for Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who rushed for 117 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries.

Gibbs broke the game open with a 30-yard touchdown run with three minutes remaining.

The 49ers had too many missed tackles, as Detroit rushed for 152 yards on 33 carries.

Grade: D

Passing Defense

Lions quarterback Jared Goff picked apart the 49ers’ defense, as he completed 26 of 34 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

It was not just one receiver who thrived against the 49ers, as six different players caught passes. Jameson Williams had five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Amon-Ra St. Brown had eight catches for 60 yards and a touchdown, and tight end Sam LaPorta came up with six catches for 64 yards and a touchdown.

Nick Bosa supplied about the only pressure on Goff, as he registered both 49ers sacks on the day.

Grade: D

Special Teams

Yes, there’s a lot more to special teams than just the placekicker. But, for the 49ers, this was all about Jake Moody.

While Lions kicker Jake Bates made his kicks from 57 and 42 yards, Moody struggled in a big way.

Moody missed a 51-yard attempt at the end of the first half to the right. Then, he missed a 58-yarder to the left.

Moody also missed an extra-point attempt late in the game and could not even keep an onside kick attempt inbounds.

That kind of night. pic.twitter.com/TtvhA5hjK0

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 31, 2024

The Lions missed two extra points, as Jordan Elliott blocked one of the attempts in the first half.

Grade: D

Coaching

The 49ers rolled up 475 yards of total offense, and the passing game was dynamic for most of the contest.

The 49ers’ game plan worked until Purdy had one pass get away from him and got fooled with a disguised coverage — plays that led to two second-half interceptions.

Defensively, the 49ers had no answers for the Lions’ offense. And it did not help they had a couple of busted coverages, too.

Grade: D-plus

Overall

The 49ers faced a step up in competition, and ended up playing one of their more competitive games of the 2024 NFL season.

In the end, it was the same old story.

The 49ers made too many mistakes, special-teams blunders, turnovers and did not come up with the defensive answers at the right times.

And the result was just as everyone has seen throughout the season — another loss in a game that got away from them in the fourth quarter.

Grade: D-plus

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