Failing grades for 49ers' offense, defense in loss to Dolphins

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Matt Maiocco hands out grades for the 49ers' disastrous performance vs. the Dolphins.

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1/8
<p>There are no excuses for the 49ers’ dreadful performance on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.</p>

<p>Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo returned to action after missing the past 2 ½ games. He had the worst starting performance of his career. He clearly was not healthy from a high ankle sprain.</p>

<p>The 49ers are banged up on defense, for sure.</p>

<p>But it’s as simple as this: The Dolphins simply manhandled the reeling 49ers from the opening kickoff all the way to the end of their <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/49ers-takeaways-what-we-learned-bewildering-43-17-loss-dolphins">43-17 victory at Levi’s Stadium</a>.</p>

<p>“You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse, and if we don’t get better, it’s going to be a long season,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said.</p>

<p>Here are the 49ers’ Week 5 grades from this ghastly performance:<br />
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There are no excuses for the 49ers’ dreadful performance on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo returned to action after missing the past 2 ½ games. He had the worst starting performance of his career. He clearly was not healthy from a high ankle sprain.

The 49ers are banged up on defense, for sure.

But it’s as simple as this: The Dolphins simply manhandled the reeling 49ers from the opening kickoff all the way to the end of their 43-17 victory at Levi’s Stadium.

“You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse, and if we don’t get better, it’s going to be a long season,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said.

Here are the 49ers’ Week 5 grades from this ghastly performance:
 

 

 

2/8
<p>The numbers looked a lot better than the performance. It was good for the 49ers to get Raheem Mostert back after he missing the past two games with a knee sprain. Mostert gained 90 yards on 11 rushing attempts.</p>

<p>The 49ers had a chance to gain some momentum on their second drive of the game, but Trent Williams and Laken Tomlinson were pushed around on the left side of the offensive line and Jerick McKinnon was dropped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 play at the Miami 44. </p>

<p><strong>Grade: D</strong><br />
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The numbers looked a lot better than the performance. It was good for the 49ers to get Raheem Mostert back after he missing the past two games with a knee sprain. Mostert gained 90 yards on 11 rushing attempts.

The 49ers had a chance to gain some momentum on their second drive of the game, but Trent Williams and Laken Tomlinson were pushed around on the left side of the offensive line and Jerick McKinnon was dropped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 play at the Miami 44. 

Grade: D
 

 

 

3/8
<p>The pass protection was bad. There was not good communication up front, either. Garoppolo was sacked three times. He threw two interceptions. His passer rating of 15.7 was the worst from any game he has started in his career.</p>

<p>In the second half, it was C.J. Beathard’s turn to get beaten up. In all, Garoppolo and Beathard combined to complete just 16 of 35 pass attempts. The 49ers converted just 2 of 12 on their third- and fourth-down attempts.</p>

<p><strong>Grade: F</strong><br />
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The pass protection was bad. There was not good communication up front, either. Garoppolo was sacked three times. He threw two interceptions. His passer rating of 15.7 was the worst from any game he has started in his career.

In the second half, it was C.J. Beathard’s turn to get beaten up. In all, Garoppolo and Beathard combined to complete just 16 of 35 pass attempts. The 49ers converted just 2 of 12 on their third- and fourth-down attempts.

Grade: F
 

 

 

4/8
<p>These bright spots were few and far between for the 49ers. They held their own in this phase of the game, though. The 49ers made six tackles for loss and limited the Dolphins to just 2.8 yards per carry.</p>

<p>Linebacker Fred Warner had a game-high 11 tackles.</p>

<p><strong>Grade: C-plus</strong></p>

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These bright spots were few and far between for the 49ers. They held their own in this phase of the game, though. The 49ers made six tackles for loss and limited the Dolphins to just 2.8 yards per carry.

Linebacker Fred Warner had a game-high 11 tackles.

Grade: C-plus

 

 

5/8
<p>Brian Allen got the surprise start at cornerback for the 49ers, and it was <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/donte-whitner-torches-49ers-robert-saleh-after-brian-allen-struggles">about as bad of a game</a> as any cornerback can experience. Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick went after him from the first snap of the game, which resulted in a 47-yard pass.</p>

<p>Allen was called for a couple of penalties and was finally benched after surrendering a 22-yard TD pass to DeVante Parker, which gave Miami a 21-7 lead in the second quarter. Fitzpatrick had a near-perfect game with 350 yards and three touchdowns.</p>

<p><strong>Grade: F</strong></p>

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Brian Allen got the surprise start at cornerback for the 49ers, and it was about as bad of a game as any cornerback can experience. Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick went after him from the first snap of the game, which resulted in a 47-yard pass.

Allen was called for a couple of penalties and was finally benched after surrendering a 22-yard TD pass to DeVante Parker, which gave Miami a 21-7 lead in the second quarter. Fitzpatrick had a near-perfect game with 350 yards and three touchdowns.

Grade: F

 

6/8
<p>The 49ers had a chance to get back into the game early in the third quarter, but the Dolphins caught them on their heels with a fake punt on a fourth-and-1 situation from their own 34-yard line.</p>

<p>Kevin White, in his 49ers debut, made the regrettable decision to return a kickoff from 6 yards deep in the end zone. He brought it out to only the 14-yard line in the first half.</p>

<p><strong>Grade: F</strong><br />
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The 49ers had a chance to get back into the game early in the third quarter, but the Dolphins caught them on their heels with a fake punt on a fourth-and-1 situation from their own 34-yard line.

Kevin White, in his 49ers debut, made the regrettable decision to return a kickoff from 6 yards deep in the end zone. He brought it out to only the 14-yard line in the first half.

Grade: F
 

 

7/8
<p>There was so much of this game that simply <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/49ers-looked-disorganized-horrendous-vs-dolphins-matt-maiocco-says">did not make sense</a>, beginning with some of Shanahan’s decisions. Why did the 49ers start Garoppolo when he clearly was not healthy? Robert Saleh did not craft a good game plan to help cover for Allen, whom the 49ers had to know was going to be a liability. The offense looked to be in shambles from the opening series.</p>

<p>Yes, the 49ers are banged-up and playing undermanned. But there is no way they can let the Dolphins come to Santa Clara and push them around like they did under any circumstances.</p>

<p><strong>Grade: F</strong></p>

There was so much of this game that simply did not make sense, beginning with some of Shanahan’s decisions. Why did the 49ers start Garoppolo when he clearly was not healthy? Robert Saleh did not craft a good game plan to help cover for Allen, whom the 49ers had to know was going to be a liability. The offense looked to be in shambles from the opening series.

Yes, the 49ers are banged-up and playing undermanned. But there is no way they can let the Dolphins come to Santa Clara and push them around like they did under any circumstances.

Grade: F

8/8
<p>Any loss to the Dolphins would have been bad. But this was inexplicable. The 49ers are 2-3 on the season with their third consecutive home loss to open this season. This season is quickly getting away from the 49ers.</p>

<p>This team looked completely bewildered and overmatched. And, remember, the difficult part of their schedule begins next week against the Los Angeles Rams.</p>

<p><strong>Grade: F</strong></p>

Any loss to the Dolphins would have been bad. But this was inexplicable. The 49ers are 2-3 on the season with their third consecutive home loss to open this season. This season is quickly getting away from the 49ers.

This team looked completely bewildered and overmatched. And, remember, the difficult part of their schedule begins next week against the Los Angeles Rams.

Grade: F

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