49ers report card: Niners lose McCaffrey, look overmatched amid 3-game skid

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here is how the 49ers (5-7) graded in Sunday night’s 35-10 loss to the AFC East-clinching Buffalo Bills (9-2):

PASS OFFENSE: D-

The best thing that can be said: Brock Purdy said his “arm is fine,” a week after his shoulder pain forced him to miss the 49ers’ 38-10 humiliation in Green Bay. A Buffalo blizzard didn’t enhance the passing conditions, so it’s no surprise he only threw for 94 yards while completing 11-of-18 passes. The next-best thing that could be said: George Kittle’s 7-yard reception on the 49ers’ first snap kept alive his streak of catching a pass in all 120 career games, including playoffs. Then Kittle vanished from the stat chart, assigned instead to blocking duty and later bobbling one short pass near the 49ers’ goal line. Ricky Pearsall went without a catch for a third straight game, while Purdy focused on Jauan Jennings (three catches, 56 yards) and Deebo Samuel (four catches, just 20 yards). Christian McCaffrey’s exit obviously robbed the 49ers’ offense from a short-pass outlet when one was needed. Purdy did lose a fumble on a sack and the ball slipped out of his hands on another throw, but the protection seemed adequate behind left-side backups Jaylon Moore and Ben Bartch.

RUN OFFENSE: B-

McCaffrey sustained a potentially season-ending injury to his right knee’s posterior cruciate ligament, ruining the mood of this game even before the Bills’ barrage of touchdowns put the score out of reach. McCaffrey ripped off season-long runs of 19 and 18 yards, and he was up to 58 yards on six carries before testing that knee and intentionally sliding to surrender for a 5-yard loss on his final carry. That opened the door for early-season star Jordan Mason, and he delivered 78 yards on 13 carries (none in the final quarter). Isaac Guerendo was also summoned and delivered the 49ers’ lone touchdown (15-yard run, third quarter; lead blocks by Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk). But of all the runs in this game, the two most crucial were McCaffrey’s 18-yarder in which he hurt his knee and then Juszczyk’s fumble at the 1-yard line to ruin the opening drive after halftime.

PASS DEFENSE: D+

Nick Bosa missed his second straight game, so it was no surprise that MVP candidate Josh Allen was not sacked and was hit just once in the pocket (by rookie defensive tackle Evan Anderson). Allen completed 13-of-17 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns, including one he was credited for scoring on an Amari Cooper lateral and a dive for a third-quarter touchdown that put the Bills up 28-3. The snowy field made route running difficult, but rookie cornerback Renardo Green was also hindered on a couple of key completions. Charvarius Ward, after a four-game absence, drew a third-down illegal-contact penalty on the Bills’ first touchdown drive and couldn’t prevent a pair of first-half touchdowns. Still, it was positive for Ward to get back into game action, and the 49ers needed him with Deommodore Lenoir inactive for the first time this season.

RUN DEFENSE: F

This unit is the bane of the 49ers’ 2024 existence or at least it rivals the special teams’ woes.  The 49ers yielded a season-high 220 yards on 38 carries, and they allowed three more rushing touchdowns to raise this season’s total to 19, which is more than in any of Shanahan’s previous seven seasons. James Cook jetted for a 65-yard touchdown run on the Bills’ first series after McCaffrey’s exit, and away the Bills went. Linebacker Fred Warner was off the field for that play because of what he called “freak” forearm cramps; unrelated or not, Warner was sleeveless in pregame warmups. But the 49ers’ run woes start up front and the skeleton crew working the defensive line isn’t doing its job.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D

Samuel ripped off a 60-yard kick return to open the second half, he averaged 30.4 yards on six returns, but he also fumbled away another return. Jake Moody made his first field-goal attempt (33 yards), but he missed two other field-goal attempts (45 yards, 55 yards) before halftime when the 49ers were desperate for points.

COACHING: F

It’s no surprise the 49ers own a three-game losing streak, but the nature in which they were blown out on the road here after a 38-10 blasting in Green Bay shows just how far the mighty have fallen under Kyle Shanahan. Missing from that mighty crew are mainstay players (Bosa, Williams, Brandon Aiyuk, and now McCaffrey again). The 49ers seem overmatched each week. Shanahan acknowledged after this defeat that this simply is not the same outfit that rallied in past years. One more month until an offseason is needed to make the necessary upgrades in personnel, in attitude, in discipline, etc.