Cardinals vs. 49ers: Grading San Francisco’s efforts

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SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 05: Drew Stanton #5 of the Arizona Cardinals is hit by DeForest Buckner #99 of the San Francisco 49ers during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Defensive line

Defensive lineman DeForest Buckner has been the team’s definitive best player all season long. Almost every game, Buckner has finished as one of the most impactful players for the 49ers.

That trend continued in the game against the Cardinals, as Buckner had himself a solid performance. Per PFF, he had three run stops as well as registering a quarterback hit and hurry. Buckner finished with two total tackles, grading out at 83.0 for PFF.

DeForest Buckner has a chance be a Pro Bowler for a long time
— Kevin Jones (@Mr_KevinJones) November 5, 2017

Outside of Bucker though was a struggle for the unit, as they failed to sack quarterback Drew Stanton (although they did hit him seven times). Running back Adrian Peterson had a field day, carrying the ball 37 times for 159 yards.

Grade: C+

Linebackers

In his first game back after missing last week versus the Philadelphia Eagles, rookie linebacker Reuben Foster put on a show. Although there was a moment of worry as he went down with what seemed to be an ankle injury, the first-year player was only sidelined for a bit.

Foster finished with 14 total tackles, 13 of those being solo. The Alabama product also had a tackle for loss, which came on a crucial 3rd down stop in the 4th quarter.

Reuben Foster is fired up as #49ers get the red zone stop on third down. pic.twitter.com/4rMD2bfHGx
— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) November 5, 2017

For the game, Foster had three run stops. Simply, it was a coming-out party, as he also received the highest PFF grade of any player from the game at 84.9.

The full scope of his ability was put on display, offering a glimmer of hope moving forward.

Key grades and stats from the Cardinals win over the 49ershttps://t.co/xIgSsLa0He pic.twitter.com/9h0lnEUcf2
— PFF (@PFF) November 6, 2017

Linebacker Brock Coyle had a good game himself, recording eight tackles, one pass deflection and a quarterback hit.

Grade: B+

Secondary

It was a roller-coaster of a game from this unit. Stanton only completed 15 of his 30 passes and threw for 201 yards and an interception. And outside of wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown, no Cardinals player had over 50 receiving yards.

While those are respectable numbers, Stanton also tossed two touchdowns and those scores ultimately ended up being the difference in the game. The first touchdown came on a broken play as Stanton rolled out far to his right and found wide receiver Jaron Brown for the three-yard score.

That pass should have been batted down as it was essentially a desperation heave from Stanton. On the second touchdown, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon was beat by tight end Jermaine Greshman for the 11-yard score.