SF 49ers position grades, analysis following surprising win over Cardinals

SF 49ers special teams and coaching grades

Special Teams: F

The one not-terrible part of the special teams this year has been the kicking game. Well, now that has sucked as well.

Kicker Robbie Gould had an uncharacteristic day at the office, missing both his field-goal attempts, both of which would have likely iced the game, as well as one of his extra-point attempts.

Whether it was yips, nerves or something the Cardinals were doing, it was bad.

San Francisco 49ers

This doesn’t even begin to mention the ineptitude that is the return game by San Francisco. Kick returner and running back Jerick McKinnon is simply not a return man anymore, and his performances back there create negative outcomes for the Niners, and the punt returners, with the many who have shuffled back there, have all had negative performances beyond the one time wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has been able to return.

It’s an issue that the SF 49ers need to seriously address in the offseason.

Coaching: A+

With the substantially worse team and nothing to play for, there would be no reason at all to question the SF 49ers simply going through the motions and dropping in a blowout to the Cardinals.

But that didn’t happen.

These players play hard for Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh no matter the situation and that tells you something very important about the coaches.

On the schematic side of things, Shanahan pulled out some quirks trying to use the limited athleticism boost C.J. Beathard gives over Mullens and the injured starter, Jimmy Garoppolo, but Shanahan largely stayed out of his own way and just let the offense be a side point.

Saleh, on the other hand, was aggressive and dealing the entire way through. He used a variety of corner and linebacker blitzes to force Kyler Murray off his spots and his progressions, and Saleh made sure to have the defensive line compensate for these situations. He played tight on DeAndre Hopkins, a major change from his Week 1 game plan. It was a masterclass, and whatever doubts there were about his talent or his coaching ability were quickly put away.

There is no world where a head coaching job is not offered to Saleh, and if he wants to take it, many teams will be glad to have him.

Now the Niners look to the future following another division tilt against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17 to wrap up the season.