49ers report card: Fourth-down failures, receivers’ drops spoil the Trey Lance experience
Kyle Shanahan's fourth-down calls didn't work and Trey Lance didn't win in his starting debut for the 49ers.
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Here is how the 49ers (2-3) graded in Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the host Arizona Cardinals (5-0):
PASS OFFENSE: D+
Trey Lance’s opening drive ended with an overthrow and interception, and a fourth-down pass got deflected to seal the 49ers’ fate. His receivers didn’t help with multiple drops, by Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Mohamed Sanu. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey played through an early (ankle?) injury and had his roughest outing of the season, including two of the team’s five holding penalties. Samuel caught 3-of-9 targets but he did score their lone touchdown (on a run).
RUN OFFENSE: B
Lance’s 16 carries (89 yards) were as many as Colin Kaepernick had in his 181-yard playoff win over Green Bay. Lance mixed improvised runs with designed keepers and zone-read options, and his ability wiggle out of jams could convince Kyle Shanahan to keep him as the starter over Jimmy Garoppolo (calf). Elijah Mitchell’s return had some chunk runs but also some quick stops.
PASS DEFENSE: B+
Familiar story here, with some early sacks (D.J. Jones, Nick Bosa) offset by some late receptions, the most crucial coming by DeAndre Hopkins with a 30-yard grab and his 9-yard touchdown for the winning points. Josh Norman and Emmanuel Mosely had mixed results. Limiting Kyler Murray to 239 yards and one touchdown was indeed respectable, made possible more so by pressure, including some from Arik Armstead and Talanoa Hufanga.
RUN DEFENSE: B+
The most damaging plays came on Rondale Moore’s 26-yard run to the 1 in which tackles were missed, and James Conner’s ensuing touchdown. Fred Warner had a team-high nine tackles. Nick Bosa had two tackles for loss.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
Shanahan didn’t show confidence in new kicker Joey Slye until calling on him for a 47-yard field goal with 4 minutes to go. Brandon Aiyuk’s punt returns were curious, as he allowed one punt to roll to the 6 and his biggest contribution came via a Cardinals’ penalty once his helmet got jarred loose. None of the Cardinals’ four kickoffs were returned, so Trenton Cannon avoided a repeat of last game’s woes.
COACHING: D-
Going 1-for-5 on fourth-down plays doomed this game, even though Kyle Shanahan defended his calls and blamed poor execution for their failures. Didn’t you expect more wizardry and creativity for a Lance-oriented game plan? Half the crowd featured 49ers fans, some of whom chanted “Fire Kyle!” on their way out of the stadium, which is preposterous because he is a fabulous coach but one who is testing the patience of an increasingly and rightfully concerned fan base.