Grading the 49ers' players and coaches after losing 42-26 to the Rams

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers just made a statement in their 42-26 loss to the Rams, and the statement is this: They are not contenders. They're big, fat pretenders, and they know it. That's why they did absolutely nothing at the trade deadline despite having a record of 6-3.

Now, they're 6-4, and it's unclear whether they ultimately will make the playoffs. With that in mind, here are their grades for this performance.

QUARTERBACK: A

Mac Jones was great. He completed 85 percent of his throws. He tossed three touchdown passes. He took zero sacks. He threw one interception but it came on fourth down which means it didn't really hurt the team. He also showed outstanding pocket presence and elusiveness to extend plays and make plays outside the structure of the offense.

He's a better quarterback than Brock Purdy, and he's far, far cheaper. It will be interesting to see how the offense changes if the 49ers ever bring back Purdy and bench Jones. Doing so would be a huge mistake. Jones is their quarterback of the present and the future.

RUNNING BACKS: B-MINUS

Christian McCaffrey still is an elite receiver for his position, but he simply cannot run outside the tackles anymore. He doesn't have the burst to get around the edge. The 49ers have been running him horizontally all season, and it isn't working. He's at his best when he runs straight into the line of scrimmage.

Unfortunately for him, Brian Robinson Jr. is much better at running between the tackles than McCaffrey. That's because Robinson is bigger, younger, and more powerful than McCaffrey. Most coaches would make Robinson Jr. the starter and McCaffrey the third-down change-of-pace back. But the 49ers' head coach is partially responsible for the team extending McCaffrey's contract last offseason, and so Shanahan is trying to justify the deal by padding McCaffrey's stats to the detriment of the rest of the team.

Play the best players, Kyle.

WIDE RECEIVERS: C

Jauan Jennings ended the game with a solid stat line, but he was a big reason the 49ers fell behind 21-0 so quickly. In the first quarter alone, he had a drop, a false start and a fumble which he lost deep in Rams territory. He took points off the board. Every week, he costs himself millions of dollars.

The 49ers offense was better when Jennings wasn't playing. Now, they force-feed him the ball to keep him happy, and they completely forget about Kendrick Bourne, who's better than Jennings.

TIGHT ENDS: A-MINUS

George Kittle had his first great game of the season -- he had 9 catches for 84 yards and 1 touchdown. His backup, Luke Farrell, caught a touchdown pass as well. Unfortunately for the 49ers, neither could create space for McCaffrey to run outside the tackles. And it's strange that the 49ers have completely forgotten about Jake Tonges after he played so well early in the season.

OFFENCheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan OutletVE LINEMEN: A

They gave up zero sacks against one of the best defensive lines in the league, and they helped Brian Robinson Jr. average 5.1 yards per carry. Granted, Christian McCaffrey averaged only 2.5 yards per carry, but that's not the offensive line's fault. All they can do is create holes, which they're doing. McCaffrey has to break tackles and make defenders miss, and which he's not doing.

DEFENCheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan OutletVE LINEMEN: D

They couldn't stop the run between the tackles or outside the tackles, nor could they rush the quarterback. They finished the game with just one sack. I'm guessing they could have benefitted from trading for another defensive lineman at the deadline. Call me crazy.

LINEBACKERS: D

Tatum Bethune is a solid player, and Dee Winters is a violent tackler who gets lost in coverage. They're not perfect, but they're not the problem, either.

Luke Gifford is the problem. He's by far the worst player on the defense. He's too weak to set a strong edge against the run, and he's too slow to cover anyone. He's a target. And when the 49ers worked so hard to finally cut the deficit to 8 points, the Rams immediately went after Gifford repeatedly in coverage and moved the ball down the field with ease.

Gifford is unplayable. Get him off the field and give someone else a chance. Rookie Nick Martin couldn't possibly be worse.

DEFENCheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan OutletVE BACKS: C

Deommodore Lenoir played well. He's a good cornerback.

Meanwhile, Renardo Green got picked on, and Upton Stout never seems to know where to line up or whom to cover. I wouldn't be surprised if Chase Lucas is better than both of them, but we'll never find out because of roster politics.

Jason Pinnock played well as a third-down dime back. The 49ers should use him more often in that role, because Winters and Gifford can't cover anyone. And neither can Malik Mustapha or Ji'Ayir Brown.

But hey, at least the 49ers have one good cornerback.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B

Eddy Pineiro missed his second extra point since joining the 49ers, but this one was blocked. Not his fault.

And Skyy Moore had a 27-yard punt return. He has been surprisingly excellent returning punts for the 49ers.

COACHES: F

The 49ers aren't as talented as the Rams, but the reason the 49ers lost by 16 is that they got outcoached.

Kyle Shanahan kept calling the same horizontal outside-zone runs for Christian McCaffrey that haven't worked all season. Shanahan simply refuses to adjust. He even called a horizontal outside zone run on a critical fourth-and-1 play in the first half and it failed. Instead, he should he should have called a quarterback sneak.

Later, Shanahan cost his offense a delay of game penalty right before halftime because he took forever to call a play that had a bunch of shifts and motions, and the 49ers couldn't get it off in time. I've never seen a coach so in love with window dressing. Sometimes he needs to get out of the way and let his players play football.

And then there's Robert Saleh. He was even worse. His defense was completely unprepared to stop the Rams' three-tight-end formations. Didn't know how to get lined up. Didn't know how to fit the gaps against the run. Didn't know how to cover the tight ends. It's like they never had seen those looks in practice.

The 49ers gave up 114 yards and 2 touchdown catches to the Rams' four tight ends, most of whom are players you probably haven't heard of. Embarassing.

FRONT OFFICE: F

John Lynch refused to trade a third-round pick to the Dolphins for Jaelan Phillips, who's a terrific edge rusher in his prime. Apparently, third-round picks are extremely precious to Lynch. That's why he spent one on a kicker a few years ago.

This year, he spent a third-round pick on linebacker Nick Martin, who's so bad, he still hasn't played a single snap on defense this year. The 49ers play safeties at linebacker instead of playing him.

In nine years with the 49ers, Lynch has made one great pick in Round 3, and that was Fred Warner. The rest have been horrendous to mediocre. If he had any self-awareness, he would trade all of his third-round picks for proven players from now on.

I can't wait to see which stiff he drafts in Round 3 next year.

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