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Maiocco’s 49ers report card: Team grades in sloppy loss to Dolphins originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The 49ers’ hopes of making the NFL playoffs came to an official end on a day that unofficially summed up their entire season.
“It’s happened too many times this year,” 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa said. “When it rains, it pours.”
The 49ers repeatedly made critical mistakes in every facet of the game in their 29-17 defeat to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.
The errors included 11 penalties, including three flags for unnecessary roughness.
“When you have so many sanctions, it’s a harbinger of loss,” Bosa said.
Here’s the report card for the 49ers’ Week 16 game against the Dolphins:
Rushing offense
running back Patrick Taylor started after injuries to Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo. Taylor didn’t accomplish much from the first drive of the game.
Taylor had no gain on a third-and-1 play for a three-and-out on the first drive of the game. He finished the game with just 24 yards on eight rushing attempts.
Brock Purdy was the team’s leading rusher with 26 yards in four rushes. Deebo Samuel added 25 yards on five rushing attempts.
Grade: D
passing offense
Purdy had a solid day until he was hit while throwing, contributing to a critical interception in the fourth quarter.
Nick Zakelj failed to catch Calais Campbell on a tackle, leading to the game-clinching interception.
Purdy finished 26 of 40 for 313 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
George Kittle had eight receptions for 106 yards, while Samuel had seven receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Ricky Pearsall had four catches for 37 yards, but was penalized for lining up in an illegal formation to negate a first-and-goal situation in the third quarter.
Grade: C-plus
hasty defense
The yards came too easy on the ground for the Dolphins as they controlled the line of scrimmage in the second half.
De’Von Achane had a big day with 120 yards on 17 carries, including a 50-yard touchdown run that clinched the win late in the fourth quarter.
As a team, the Dolphins gained 166 yards on 30 carries for a 5.5-yard average.
Grade: D-minus
pass defense
Tua Tagovailoa destroyed the 49ers with short, timed passes. The 49ers were unable to muster much pressure on the quarterbacks with Maliek Collins receiving the only quarterback hit in the game.
The 49ers did a good job against Tyreek Hill, one of the best receivers in the game. He caught just three passes for 29 yards.
Rookie cornerback Renardo Green prevented a touchdown with a deflected pass against Hill in the end zone.
But the 49ers struggled against Achane and tight end Jonnu Smith. Achane had seven receptions for 70 yards, while Smith had six receptions for 62 yards.
Grade: C-minus
Special teams
Special teams has been an issue all season and Sunday was no different.
There was only one glaring error, but it kept the points off the board.
Kicker Jake Moody missed a 41-yard field goal wide of the left upright in the third quarter.
He is now 23 of 30 on field goal attempts this season. He made a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Grade: D
Training
Kittle set out to absolve the 49ers coaching staff of blame for the high number of penalties. He said it’s all the players’ responsibility for not doing their job.
But, of course, there is a lot of blame between everyone. And that includes the coaches.
Once again, the right moves were not made at the right time to achieve victory in a very winnable game.
Grade: D
In general
This game was the story of the 49ers season. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw left early with a right calf injury. The 49ers lost two starting offensive linemen, and that also proved costly.
The 49ers were plagued by sloppiness in all areas. Six of his penalties came for infractions. Some of those sanctions came at the most inopportune times.
And once again, the 49ers couldn’t generate any takeaways by turning it over once.
Grade: D-minus