49ers report card: Grades on offense, defense in 28-18 loss to Cardinals

Five giveaways. Zero takeaways.

That’s most of what you need to know about the 49ers’ 28-18 loss to the previously winless Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.

But we’re not quite finished with this one. Here is a look at this week’s 49ers grades.

Rushing offense

Running back Matt Breida was off to a good start, and appeared as if he might be on the verge of a career game. Then, he sustained a left ankle sprain and did not return. In just one quarter, Breida gained 56 yards on eight rushing attempts.

Running back Alfred Morris had a team-high 61 yards, but averaged just 3.4 yards per attempt. Raheem Mostert committed a costly fumble after replacing Breida. The fumble was huge.

Grade: C-minus

Passing offense

Sure, quarterback C.J. Beathard threw for a career-best 349 yards. But we cannot look beyond the four turnovers in the passing game. Beathard threw two interceptions, one of which deflected off the hands of wide receiver Pierre Garçon.

The 49ers QB was also sacked four times, two of which resulted in fumbles and turnovers. If you want to know why the 49ers lost this game, don’t look any further than the turnover column.

Grade: F

[RATTO: A remarkable way to lose]

Rushing Defense

The Cardinals had the lead for most of the game and they wanted to get running back David Johnson going, but there was just no room for him to run. He carried 18 times for just 55 yards – a 3.1 average. 

The 49ers’ defensive front did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage, but they did not force any turnovers.

Grade: A-minus

Passing Defense

Let’s remember that the Cardinals have the worst offense in the league. The defense did a very good job for most of the game. But things could not have started any worse.

Cornerback Adrian Colbert allowed rookie receiver Christian Kirk to get behind him for a 75-yard touchdown on the Cardinals’ first offensive snap of the game. After that, rookie quarterback Josh Rosen had a difficult time getting anything going, but that was all Arizona needed. He did not throw any interceptions and he was sacked just once.

Grade: B-minus

Special Teams

For whatever reason, the 49ers aborted their extra-point attempt after scoring a touchdown on the opening drive of the game. So the 49ers just left one point out there. Ten seconds later, the Cardinals had a 7-6 lead. Then, Robbie Gould’s club-record streak of consecutive made field goals came to a halt at 33 in a row when he hit a 45-yard attempt wide right.

The 49ers could have used all of those points. When they pulled to within 14-12 with 6:51 remaining in the game, they should have had a 17-14 lead.

Grade: F

Overall

Yes, the 49ers dominated the stat sheet, but who cares about that? The 49ers should have won this game with relative ease. 

Instead, the offense committed five turnovers and some blame goes to the defense for not coming through with any takeaways. This was an abysmal performance in a game that, on paper anyway, was the most winnable game on the 49ers’ schedule.

Grade: F