There were a few notable performances in the 49ers' 29-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, but those were outweighed by the mistakes, which were very evident in the team's PFF grades.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle both had standout performances in the disappointing loss, a game that was in reach until midway through the fourth quarter, but 11 penalties for 90 yards was too much to overcome in Sunday’s game.
The effect of the penalties might have been most evident on the 49ers' first drive of the third quarter, when quarterback Brock Purdy and the offense drove down the field to the Miami 2-yard line, only to have Samuel’s 16-yard reception and run negated by an illegal formation penalty committed by wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. The offense was unable to recoup the lost yards, and the ensuing field-goal attempt by kicker Jake Moody went wide-left.
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“No matter what's going on, when you have those penalties like that, you don't deserve to win,” Kyle Shanahan said after the game. “The offense, the biggest thing was the lack of concentration.
“The defense, three drives where you have a personal foul on all three of those drives. I think two of them ended up in points. But that was stuff that we can control. I didn't get to see 'em all, but you can't have three personal fouls on three drives in the second half and expect to win.”
Injuries to linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who only was on the field for four plays before leaving the game with calf tightness, left tackle Jaylon Moore (quad) and guard Aaron Banks (knee) compounded the issues on the field and limited offensive production.
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive end Nick Bosa and the defensive line were unable to get pressure on Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and as a whole, the group allowed Dolphins running back De’Von Achane to accumulate 190 yards from scrimmage — 120 yards rushing, 70 receiving.
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Here are the 49ers' PFF grads from Week 16:
Offense
WR Deebo Samuel — 89.4
Samuel looked like his old self against Miami, running over defenders and scoring his fist touchdown since Week 6 and his third of the season. The six-year veteran caught seven of his nine targets for 96 yards and one touchdown.
93 of Samuel’s 96 receiving yards came after the catch, which ties a career high with six missed tackles forced.
TE George Kittle — 80.3
Kittle is having another All-Pro season, notching the 20th 100-yard receiving game of his eight-year career. The All-Pro caught all eight of his targets for 106 yards, 71 of which came after the catch.
QB Brock Purdy — 71.5
Purdy dealt with several different offensive line combinations and was under pressure throughout the game. The Dolphins' defense racked up pressure on 17 of the quarterback’s dropbacks, or 37 percent, which led to Purdy only completing four of his 11 attempts for 42 yards, one interception and a 10.4 passer rating.
When the offensive line kept Purdy clean, his production improved significantly, completing 22 of his 29 pass attempts for 271 yards, two touchdowns and a 127.2 passer rating. The 49ers' offense also was more productive when using play-action, helping Purdy complete 12 of his 15 attempts for 144 yards, one touchdown and a 128.9 passer rating.
Purdy did not attempt any deep passes of 20 yards or more, instead, completing a season-high eight screen passes for 103 yards. The play-caller’s five-yard average depth of target is the lowest of his career in a regular-season game.
RB Patrick Taylor — 45.4
The running back received the lowest score on offense, partially as a result of allowing a sack of Purdy in pass protection. Taylor only was able to gain 24 yards on eight carries, which ranked him third in rushing behind Purdy (26 yards) and Samuel (25 yards). Taylor also was targeted five times, and only pulled in one catch for one yard, dropping two.
There were 16 pressures allowed by the offense as a whole:
Jake Brendel - one sack, one hit, two hurries
Colton McKivitz - three hurries
Spencer Burford - one hit, one hurry
Jaylon Moore - one sack, one hurry
Dominick Puni - two hurries
Kyle Juszczyk - one hurry
Patrick Taylor - one sack
Nick Zakelj - one hurry
Defense
LB Dee Winters - 83.9
The linebacker received the highest grade on defense, registering three stops, allowing six catches on seven targets for only 35 yards while breaking up one pass.
DL Nick Bosa - 71.9
Bosa logged only two hurries, but was effective in run defense with four tackles — two solo, and two run stops.
Defensive line:
Yetur Gross-Matos - two hurries
Nick Bosa - two hurries
Jordan Elliott - one hurry
Maliek Collins - one hit
Missed tackles:
Malik Mustapha - two
Fred Warner - two
Deommodore Lenoir - one
Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles - one
Odds and ends
Part of the reason that the defense was unable to get pressure on Tagovailoa was his 2.16-second average time of snap-to-release, which was his second-quickest figure of the year
The Dolphins quarterback was under pressure on only five of his 36 dropbacks, or 13.9 percent.
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