49ers grades in blowout Christmas night loss to Ravens

SANTA CLARA — After six consecutive victories of at least 12-point margins, the 49ers learned what it's like to be on the other side Monday night. The Baltimore Ravens came to town and pummeled the 49ers in a supposed matchup of NFL powerhouses. The Ravens lived up to the billing, and the 49ers looked like pushovers in a 33-19 loss to the AFC's top team on Christmas night at Levi's Stadium. Let's get right to the report card, and you can be sure it will not be the kind of present the 49ers wanted to see under their tree: Rushing offense Running back Christian McCaffrey had a typical Christian McCaffrey game, but it made little difference on this night. The league's leading rusher gained 103 yards and one touchdown on 14 rushing attempts. The 49ers gained 121 yards on the night, with Sam Darnold checking in with a 9-yard scramble to be the team's second-leading rusher. The 49ers' only problem with the run game is that they were not able to avoid giveaways. If they had taken care of the ball better, they would have been able to keep drives going and produce a greater volume of run plays. Grade: B Passing offense Quarterback Brock Purdy had the worst game of his life. He has been so good at taking care of the football since taking over as the 49ers' starting quarterback. But the Ravens' had his number on Monday. Purdy threw four interceptions. One was a pick in the end zone that prevented the 49ers from scoring on their first drive of the game. It was a bad read on his part. The Ravens turned his other three interceptions into 17 points. Purdy completed 18 of 32 pass attempts for 255 yards with no touchdowns, four interceptions and a passer rating of 42.6. After Purdy exited with a stinger, backup Sam Darnold entered and threw one touchdown and one interception. George Kittle had seven catches for 126 yards, and Brandon Aiyuk added six receptions for 113 yards. Grade: F Rushing defense The 49ers' run defense generally did a good job on the Ravens' running backs. Gus Edwards gained 31 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, and Justice Hill added 26 yards on 10 carries. As expected, the running of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was a problem. But he had only one big run. Jackson had a 30-yard scramble that led directly to a Baltimore touchdown. Jackson finished the night with 45 yards on seven rushing attempts. Grade: C-plus Passing defense Jackson picked the 49ers apart, completing 23 of 35 pass attempts for 252 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating was 105.9. Rookie receiver Zay Flowers had a team-high 72 yards on nine receptions, as eight different Ravens receivers caught passes. Tashaun Gipson had pass interference and facemask penalties totaling 37 yards that contributed to Ravens points. The 49ers got some pressure on Jackson but had a difficult time bringing him down. He was sacked twice for minus-11 yards. Javon Hargrave had one sack, while Randy Gregory and Chase Young shared one. The 49ers were not credited for a sack in the first quarter, but pressure from Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and Young — along with umpire Alex Moore falling down in the end zone and Jackson tripping over him — contributed to an intentional-grounding penalty in the end zone for a safety that gave the 49ers a 2-0 lead. Grade: D-minus Special teams Mitch Wishnowsky compounded a coverage mistake with a late hit out of bounds early in the second half, tacking a 15-yard penalty onto the end of Tylan Wallace's 23-yard return. And just before that snap, Jeremy McNichols was called for a false start. That field position shortened the field for the Ravens, who drove 44 yards on three plays for a touchdown. That was a huge momentum-building play for Baltimore. Grade: D-minus Coaching There is no area of the team that performed well enough to win, and that certainly includes the plan and execution from the coaching staff. Coach Kyle Shanahan said the plan, as always, was to feature a balanced offensive attack. The 49ers opened with five consecutive pass plays. It started well, as the 49ers moved the ball 74 yards, but Purdy misread the defense and threw an interception to end the 49ers' first drive of the game. There were not enough answers supplied on either side of the ball. And the decision to change up the team's nickel defense with the insertion of Jason Verrett into the lineup seemed forced. Grade: D Overall There is little chance for any team to overcome a 5-0 turnover deficit and win, period. But against a team such as the Baltimore Ravens, it is absolutely impossible. The 49ers gave the ball away five times on interceptions. After Purdy's fourth interception, they fell behind 30-12 and the game was over. It's as simple as that. Grade: D-minus Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

49ers grades in blowout Christmas night loss to Ravens

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