The 49ers came out of Philadelphia with a hard-fought 17-11 win, starting their season 2-0 but leaving some big questions. Niner Noise hands out grades.
The San Francisco 49ers offense looked sensational in Week 1 in the road victory over the Detroit Lions, putting up 41 points in that bout, but their defense looked suspect. Especially late in the fourth quarter.
And the all-important opposition-quality disclaimer came into play.
Heading into Week 2, many assumed the same would occur when the Niners played their second of back-to-back road games, this one against the Philadelphia Eagles, who were coming off a drubbing of the Atlanta Falcons the previous week.
The Eagles defense was much more talented than Detroit’s, but so, too, was the Eagles offense. And with quarterback Jalen Hurts, San Francisco’s defensive kryptonite — mobile quarterbacks — one could fairly wonder if defensive miscues and breakdowns would be on display.
Well, that’s why the games are played.
In a complete reversal of Week 1, the 49ers defense was encouraging to flat-out dominant at certain phases to ground the Eagles, while the Niners offense struggled their way to 17 points in a hard-fought 17-11 victory over Philadelphia.
Let’s grade out the position groups.
49ers Offensive Grades
Although the end result looks halfway decent with over 300 yards of total offense, San Francisco’s offense did not operate particularly well for most of the game.
Two long drives saved the team, but a week after looking unstoppable, the 49ers offense was the furthest from intimidating.
Quarterbacks
In the first half, up until the two-minute warning, Jimmy Garoppolo was on track to play potential his worst-ever game on the team. The offense had no rhythm, in large part because Garoppolo simply could not hit his outside receivers on open breaking routes or throw with any accuracy or zip.
Things changed as the game progressed, and Garoppolo’s pass to Deebo Samuel during the two-minute drill was as pretty a ball as he’s ever thrown.
All in all, Garoppolo was the quintessential average game-manager this game, not creating or producing beyond what was easily given to him.
It worked against the Eagles, and a lot of credit has to be given to Jimmy G for standing tough in the pocket, showing evasiveness and a willingness to fight contact, and dominating the QB sneak game.
But the quarterback play has to improve, and Garoppolo has to be able to hit plays outside the numbers, otherwise the 49ers offense will eventually be unable to break through. Much to improve under center.
Grade: C-
Running Backs
The 49ers running backs dealt with a severe lack of running lanes during the game. It would be simple to box score grade them off 3.6 yards per carry, especially how it seems Elijah Mitchell was the worst of the three, but that wouldn’t give them justice. The running backs managed to find yards when none were available, and the play-calling didn’t always put them in the best position to perform.
Kyle Juszczyk got a lot of run as a fullback, and the backs worked out a gritty game.
Grade: C
Wide Receivers
It’s always difficult to separate receiver play from quarterbacks, but in this game, it became much simpler. The Niners receivers were gaining separation on several plays, and they didn’t have any bad drops; in fact the one drop — a wide receiver screen that would have been blown up — was probably beneficial. When called up, they produced up and down the board.
Jauan Jennings caught his first career catch and touchdown. Brandon Aiyuk finally got on the board in 2021, and Samuel continued his ascent as a wide receiver.
Great game for the wideouts.
Grade: B+
Tight Ends
A quiet game for the 49ers tight ends, as George Kittle only got four targets, which he converted into four receptions. What many considered to be a strength for the Niners this game, attacking linebackers with Kittle, turned out to be much of nothing. It is worth noting how quiet Kittle has been in the early part of the season and whether that turns into something larger.
But for now, a quiet game coupled with strong run-blocking is about average for a top-three tight end in the NFL
Grade: C
Offensive Line
It was clear San Francisco’s offensive line would have its hands full this game, and it did not completely step up to the occasion. The Eagles are strong and deep in their front four, and they took full advantage of it.
Of all the linemen, perhaps only Trent Williams had himself a strong game. The two guards in particular struggled heavily.
It’s only one game against a formidable defensive line, but the dominance of the Eagles defensive line was a large part of why the 49ers offense could never truly get in rhythm.
Grade: D
49ers Defensive Grades
To hold a team that had scored 33 points a week ago to only 11 is a win for a defense, and although it wasn’t perfect from the 49ers’ vantage point, they did what they needed to do, and saw a player perhaps truly emerge as a difference maker for this team.
Defensive Line
The Niners had two sacks on the day, both by Nick Bosa, and they managed to hold Miles Sanders and the Eagles running backs, by far their biggest weakness from a game ago, to only 3.6 yards per carry for a total of 69 yards.
But, there was one clear issue San Francisco had to deal with this game, and that was keeping contain on Jalen Hurts.
The defensive line was… less than successful in that regard.
Hurts ran for 82 yards on 10 carries, and though he got the majority of his yards on a chunk play, he constantly had an opportunity to break free of the pocket. The contain for the 49ers, for whatever reason, simply was not up to snuff, and the pressure wasn’t constant enough to make up for it.
Mobile quarterbacks are difficult for any defense to handle, but until the Niners consistently manage to show contain on the defensive line, it will stay a problem.
Grade: C
Linebackers
San Francisco’s linebackers weren’t targeted much in the game, as the Eagles kept their offense focused on exposing the 49ers secondary, but they played quite well. Azeez Al-Shaair wasn’t nearly as impactful or visible as last game, but he played well enough to make Dre Greenlaw’s injury absence unnoticeable.
Fred Warner was around the ball constantly for another game, making several plays particularly on that critical goal-line stop. Solid game from the linebackers.
Grade: B
Secondary
Beyond a 91-yard strike where Deommodore Lenoir lost his balance, the Niners secondary more than showed up against an Eagles team that worked hard to explicitly target and attack them. Coverage down the field was solid, tackling was great, and the safeties made several plays along with the corners.
Josh Norman got two pass interference calls on his two targets, but he played decent for someone who had been signed just two weeks ago.
But the real star of the game was rookie fifth-round NFL Draft pick, Lenoir.
He gave up that long play, yes. But beyond that, he had impeccable coverage. He played the boundary perfectly, using it to squeeze away receivers and even had it take away a touchdown. He made every throw a contested window, even when he wasn’t explicitly involved in the pass breakup. It was a star turn for a rookie who may not ever give up his starting spot this year.
Grade: A-
49ers Special Teams and Coaching Grades
The 49ers won this game in large part because of their play in the third phase of the game. Their coaching had a little more to answer for.
Special Teams
The Niners special teams played their best game probably in the last couple of years. Kickoffs they kept controlled, and the same on punt returns. Mitch Wishnowsky had another stellar game punting as he put three punts inside the 20-yard line.
The biggest play of the game, though, was when Javon Kinlaw blocked an Eagles field-goal try, helping stop what could have been the continuation of momentum for the Eagles and major points in a game as close as it was.
An amazing play by Kinlaw, and just the feather in the cap for San Francisco’s special teams in what was a terrific game.
Grade: A+
Coaching
The 49ers didn’t have a perfect game plan against the Eagles, but they came away with the win, which is always good.
On offense, Kyle Shanahan seemed to play, for the most part, right into the Philadelphia’s hands by running the ball inside right to the teeth of the Eagles defense and by playing several screens and delays against a defense that wasn’t susceptible to that.
Jimmy Garoppolo certainly missed open players on the outside, but Shanahan’s offense approach was more stubborn than anything else. His decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 on his side of the field was a definite plus, as an aggressive Shanahan is generally a good thing.
DeMeco Ryans redeemed himself from the fiasco in Detroit, as his defense was much stouter against the run and didn’t leak yards against the pass. His aggressiveness in calling blitzes helped minorly, but it also ended up having the Niners lose their contain and allow Jalen Hurts easy rushing lanes.
But, by and large, he called the right plays to put his defense in position, and as a young coordinator, it was good to see him progress.
The 49ers will now match up against the Green Bay Packers for a prime-time home opener, hoping to continue this strong season start all the way to 3-0.