Maiocco's 49ers Report Card: Team grades in blowout loss to Packers

GREEN BAY, Wisc. — The 49ers have been unable to come up with the solutions to pull out of their tailspin.

“We got embarrassed,” coach Kyle Shanahan said after the 49ers’ 38-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

“That was probably one of the worst ones I’ve been a part of,” All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner said of the 28-point loss.

Indeed. The 49ers’ execution in all facets of the game was bottom-of-the-barrel atrocious.

Here is the report card from their Week 12 loss to the Packers:

Rushing offense

The 49ers could not get anything going on the ground. They had just 3 yards rushing at halftime and the second half was not much better.

Christian McCaffrey had just 31 yards on 11 rushing attempts for a 2.8-yard average. The 49ers could not string together any success on offense, so they ran the ball only 16 times in the game.

Jordan Mason, who was among the NFL leaders when McCaffrey returned after missing eight games, had just three carries for 8 yards.

Grade: F

Passing offense

Of all the things that went poorly, Brandon Allen’s play ranks far down that list.

Allen completed 17-of-29 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown with one interception. However, he had issues with his footing and lost a fumble when he slipped.

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel had a bad day with two passes that slipped through his hands. One ended up in the hands of Packers defensive back Xavier McKinney, who returned the interception 48 yards.

Samuel had just one catch for 21 yards on four targets. McCaffrey lost a fourth-quarter fumble at the end of a pass play.

Tight end George Kittle was the 49ers’ best player with six catches for 82 yards.

Grade: F

Rushing defense

The 49ers certainly felt the absence of Nick Bosa. The front four got pushed around as Packers running back Josh Jacobs gained 106 yards on 26 rushing attempts.

The 49ers’ defense could bring anyone down as they had 10 missed tackles in the first quarter and at least 20 missed tackles for the game.

Green Bay controlled the game on the ground, as the Packers gained 169 yards and three touchdowns on 42 rushing attempts.

Grade: F

Passing defense

The 49ers did not help themselves, as they missed several opportunities to generate takeaways against Packers quarterback Jordan Love.

Malik Mustapha had an interception nullified due to a penalty. The rookie safety and cornerback Renardo Green failed to come down with other chances for interceptions.

Love did not throw an interception for the first time in 10 games. He completed 13 of 23 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. The 49ers also caught a break when receiver Christian Watson dropped an on-target deep pass over Isaac Yiadom that would have been a touchdown.

Grade: D

Special teams

The 49ers continue to make one special-teams mistake after another. On Sunday, it came in the form of penalties.

Eric Saubert’s holding penalty wiped out Samuel’s 87-yard kickoff return to open the second half. That was a huge play, as the 49ers would have opened that drive at the Packers’ 5-yard line.

George Odum and Nick McCloud were called for holding penalties on punt returns.

Isaac Guerendo fumbled a kickoff return, though Chris Conley bailed him out when he recovered it.

Grade: D

Coaching

The 49ers did nothing good in this game and that includes coaching.

Shanahan has been unable to find the answers to correct the problems that are plaguing the 49ers. Penalties have been among the team’s biggest issues this season.

Shanahan’s offense and Nick Sorensen’s defense got overwhelmed. The 49ers were not well-prepared to face the Packers’ run game.

The 49ers had a head-scratching sequence in which they were called for 12 men on the field on back-to-back plays. What?

The Packers jumped on the 49ers early. The 49ers settled down after a horrendous first quarter, but they could not come up with any sustainable answers against Green Bay. 

Grade: F

Overall

There is nothing positive to be said about the 49ers’ performance on Sunday. Frankly, they stunk in every which way.

Even with several backup players taking on central roles, the 49ers expected to play better and make the Packers fight hard to win the game.

The Packers did fight, and they did not let up. The 49ers opened the game weak and they closed the game even weaker.

Grade: F

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