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Cardinals vs. 49ers: Week 5 Grades and Analysis for San Francisco

By Peter Panacy

Oct 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) catches a 29-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter as San Francisco 49ers strong safety Antoine Bethea (41) and cornerback Tramaine Brock (26) defend during a NFL game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) catches a 29-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter as San Francisco 49ers strong safety Antoine Bethea (41) and cornerback Tramaine Brock (26) defend during a NFL game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly on the sideline against the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium. The Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers 33-21. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly on the sideline against the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium. The Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers 33-21. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Special Teams/Coaching

Hey, kicker Phil Dawson, you keep this unit from being a total debacle!

Special Teams: F

San Francisco’s coverage unit gave up yet another huge return right on the opening kickoff. Thankfully, the Niners defense held enough to force a punt. But this aspect continues to be a major problem for special teams coordinator Derius Swinton’s unit.

But it gets worse. Much worse.

Kick returner Chris Davis’ second-half kickoff fumble, which the Niners couldn’t recover, led to an easy Cardinals touchdown. And then the 49ers special teams ran into Arizona kicker Chandler Catanzaro, which negated a mere field goal and set the stage for another touchdown allowed.

Sloppy, mistake-prone play from this unit will likely plague the team all season.

Coaching: D

At times, we see what a Chip Kelly offense can do. The only problem is if one of the key elements isn’t functioning properly, the entire system is thrown off.

And the Niners simply aren’t good enough to overcome any specific shortcomings based off talent alone.

Kelly might not be sticking with quarterback Blaine Gabbert much longer.

But how many other adjustments can be made?

Defensively, it’s still hard to figure out what coordinator Jim O’Neil is trying to do. Pressure is nice and all. Yet the 49ers defense isn’t capable enough to generate this even on blitz packages.

The result? Well, there are far too many holes in coverage. And whatever O’Neil is calling to stop the run isn’t working. He doesn’t have a good history against ground game either, which dates back to his days with the Cleveland Browns.

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Cumulative Team Grade: D+

Honestly, the 49ers would have done enough to win this game if they had played near mistake-free football. They managed to catch a staggering Cardinals team without its No. 1 quarterback, at Levi’s Stadium and on a short week (which usually benefits the home team, right?).

And yet San Francisco’s own mistakes overtook its own lack of talent.

Those are aspects in which the 49ers will not be able to overcome this season.

Next: Cardinals vs. 49ers: The Good, Bad & Ugly from San Francisco

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of ESPN.com, Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.