Brock Purdy, 49ers get A-grades all around after smashing Buccaneers

49ers offensive grades vs. Buccaneers

It would have made sense for San Francisco to take as much pressure off Brock Purdy as possible by running the ball early and often.

For the most part, Kyle Shanahan called for that, as Purdy only attempted 21 passes while the 49ers attempted 36 rush attempts, although that is skewed by the fact they got out to a massive lead by the second half.

Still, Purdy made all kinds of big plays when presented with opportunities, though, and the Niners managed 404 yards of total offense.

Quarterback

Purdy’s line doesn’t flash: 16-of-21 for 185 yards with two passing touchdowns against no interceptions, a 134.0 passer rating. But the stat geeks will miss some of the big throws and big moments.

Not only did Purdy rush in for a 2-yard touchdown, but his two scoring passes to running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk were both things of beauty.

However, this off-script play and completion might be one of Purdy’s most impressive plays of the afternoon:

There are going to be plenty of other stats and metrics talking about how well Purdy played, but the simple reality is he looked like a polished veteran at the helm of a star-studded offense.

It was fun to watch.

Grade: A+

Running back

Tampa Bay owned the No. 5 scoring defense in the league heading into Week 14, but there was a small weakness in defending against the run.

McCaffrey, who had been struggling a bit carrying the ball, finally had a massive output on the ground to the tune of 119 yards on 14 carries, averaging 8.5 yards per attempt, while his two catches (including that 27-yard touchdown in the second quarter) were impactful, too.

It’s also good to see rookie Jordan Mason run hard, and he finished with 56 yards on 11 carries.

Grade: A

Wide receiver

Only one negative to report here, as wide receiver Deebo Samuel suffered what appeared to be a high-ankle sprain on an inside run toward the end of the second quarter. Samuel, in obvious pain and emotional, needed to be carted off the field, and one can only hope it’s not too serious an injury.

That put a cap on what had been an impressive performance by the All-Pro during the game, which included a 13-yard rushing touchdown that got San Francisco on the board at the end of its first possession, and Samuel had 64 all-purpose yards up to the point of his injury.

Aiyuk, meanwhile, led all 49ers players with 57 receiving yards and capped off the first half with that impressive touchdown score.

Heck, even rookie Danny Gray recorded his first NFL reception in garbage time after Purdy exited and backup quarterback Josh Johnson entered the game.

Grade: A-

Tight end

It’s usually a good idea to have a rookie quarterback develop a rapport with his tight end, and this appeared to be the go-to measure between Purdy and Geoge Kittle early.

Kittle was a regular target on that opening drive, and while Purdy began looking elsewhere as the game went along, the All-Pro never shied away from providing some excellent blocking on some of those chunky Niners pickups later on.

While Kittle finished with only four catches for 28 yards, his overall impact on the game still help boost his grade up nicely.

Grade: A-

Offensive line

Perhaps the only noticeable gaffe on San Francisco’s offensive line was a holding call against left tackle Trent Williams on a play where Purdy was scrambling and evading pressure within the pocket.

Hard to pin that on Williams, who otherwise had his usual dominant-type game.

The 49ers netted 209 rush yards while averaging 5.8 yards per carry, and Purdy was never sacked despite the Buccaneers trying to send a swarm of blitz packages.

Fantastic outing from the O-line, and it’s been refreshing to see this unit come together as a strength this season.

Grade: A