SF 49ers position grades following lopsided Week 9 loss vs. Packers

A banged-up SF 49ers squad had no business beating the Packers on a short week, losing 34-17 on Thursday Night Football where too much went wrong.

The SF 49ers just have to be thankful their Thursday Night Football clash with the visiting Green Bay Packers is over, and the team can get away from what’s been one of the worst two-week stretches in recent memory.

Now 4-5 after falling 34-17 in lowly fashion to quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ four touchdowns and the Packers’ one-sided win, head coach Kyle Shanahan still has to come to grips with the fact he’s likely lost quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) and tight end George Kittle (foot) for the season, as both were placed on injured reserve ahead of the game.

To make things worse, the Niners also watched left tackle Trent Williams and wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Brandon Aiyuk land on the reserve/COVID-19 list just days before the game, forcing an already-shorthanded San Francisco squad to rely even more on practice squad call-ups and third-string reserves to start the game and see through its conclusion.

Speaking of Garoppolo, SF 49ers fans probably wish he would have been back even though his season hasn’t exactly been stellar. In his relief, No. 2 quarterback Nick Mullens was notably inaccurate with his passes and, at times, even reckless with his attempts.

Mullens turned the ball over twice, although he wasn’t exactly getting much help from his pass-catchers getting separation and his offensive line blocking.

Needless to say, the Niners’ positional grades aren’t going to be great this week. But it is important to at least acknowledge how banged up San Francisco was entering this game on a short week.

Although that doesn’t make things much more digestible. At all.