SF 49ers grades, analysis from gutsy Week 13 win vs. Dolphins

49ers Week 13 grades: Offense

Quarterback:

Hopefully Jimmy Garoppolo heals fast from his broken ankle, as the quarterback did absolutely everything possible to get himself a new contract somewhere. There have been some whispers that both Garoppolo and the 49ers are interested in a potential reunion, but that’s something to look at another time.

It was the Brock Purdy show however, and if he does nothing else in his career at least he has an excellent debut to show for it. Purdy had 25-for-37 passing for 210 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on a fourth-down throw down the sidelines.

Purdy didn’t win the game all but himself but he did what he had to do. He was a facilitator, getting the ball out quick to his weapons and allowing the defense to do its bit to hang onto the lead. Purdy also displayed some good throws, especially on some plays where Miami sent pressure to rattle him.

Grade: B+

Running Backs:

Miami have a good run defense so it was interesting to see if the 49ers could beat them on the ground, the answer was kind of.

The 49ers didn’t run very much with Purdy under center because the Dolphins were content to try to force the passing game to beat them, so the 49ers had 30 carries discounting quarterback keepers. A decent amount, but with the 49ers leading most of the game and never being more than one score down (very early in the game at that), you’d expect them to take it out of Purdy’s hands more.

That being said they had some success with Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason running for 66 and 51 yards (off 17 and eight carries respectively). McCaffrey was also the main safety valve for Purdy recording eight receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown late in the first half.

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk was stuffed on his only rushing attempt but had a good day receiving with three receptions for 12 yards and a touchdown.

Wide Receivers:

You could be forgiven to think that Purdy would have played a bit within his shell and not targeted the receivers very much, but he actually threw some really nice strikes that got all three starting receivers into the game.

Deebo Samuel led the receiving corps with 58 yards from six receptions along with five yards from four carries, while Brandon Aiyuk had a respectable five receptions and 46 yards.

Jauan Jennings continued to have some very key receptions when called upon, recording two receptions for 34 yards.

Not eyecatching numbers from the 49ers receivers, but a respectable showing against a good team with a change at quarterback.

Grade: B

Tight Ends:

George Kittle had a quiet game with two receptions for 22 yards, but he chipped in when he had to. Backup tight end Tyler Kroft had a very nice reception for 14 yards also.

Not the biggest day for them.

Grade: C

Offensive Line:

Not the best day for the offensive line, with four sacks given up and a lot more pressures besides that including the one that caused the injury to Garoppolo.

The run blocking made up for it somewhat, with the strong run defense of the Dolphins not able to clamp down completely as noted.

While the offense was functional enough to get the victory, this was not the finest day for the trenches.

Grade: C-