How PFF graded Purdy, 49ers in epic collapse vs. Rams

How PFF graded Purdy, 49ers in epic collapse vs. Rams originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It was all going well for the 49ers until it wasn’t.

San Francisco’s collapse in its 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at SoFi Stadium included a myriad of mistakes in all three phases of the game, but a few key players’ performances kept the club in the lead until the final two seconds of the game.

Quarterback Brock Purdy and wide receiver Jauan Jennings were PFF’s top-graded players on the day. Jennings had a career day stepping up in the passing game as Purdy’s No. 1 target. The Tennessee product caught nearly everything thrown his way, hauling in 11 of his 12 targets for 175 receiving yards and a whopping three touchdowns.

As a result, Purdy’s statistics also were impressive, completing 22 of his 30 attempts for 292 yards, three touchdowns and a 137.1 rating.

Multiple 49ers defenders had strong performances but the defense as a whole made enough mistakes to allow Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to move the ball effectively down the field, completing 16 of his 25 attempts for 221 yards and a touchdown.

The 49ers had no answer for Rams running back Kyren Williams. who amassed 116 total yards from scrimmage — 89 on the ground — and three total touchdowns. Wide receiver Tutu Atwell nearly hit the century mark with four catches on five targets for 93 yards.

Here are the 49ers’ PFF grades for Week 3:

Offense

QB Brock Purdy — 91.1

Purdy’s performance earned him the second highest overall grade of his career behind his 91.7 from 2023 in the club’s Week 10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars

He was under pressure on 18 of his 38 dropbacks, or 47.7 percent, and had a 143.4 passer rating when under pressure, completing nine of his 11 attempts for 98 yards and two touchdowns.

Coach Kyle Shanahan called for more play action than in Minneapolis and Purdy took advantage, completing a perfect eight of eight for 127 yards and one touchdown with a 158.3 passer rating.

Purdy’s sweet spot continues to be intermediate throws from 10-to-19 yards downfield where he competed nine of his 11 attempts for 156 yards and two touchdowns, helping attain an NFL-leading 86.2 percent completion rate on said passes through three weeks.

WR Jauan Jennings – 90.5

The physical receiver caught 11 of his 12 targets for 175 yards and three touchdowns. The Rams’ defenders did not make it easy on Jennings, who was able to hold on to five contested catches. The only other receiver with five contested catches is Las Vegas Raiders Davante Adams, who has five over the entire season.

WR Brandon Aiyuk – 63.1

Aiyuk was on the field for 57 offensive plays, or 80 percent, and caught five of his 10 targets for 48 yards and received a 49.2 grade for his drops.

WR Ronnie Bell – 39.8

The sophomore receiver caught one of his three targets for 12 yards, including a crucial drop that could have prevented a total collapse late in the fourth quarter.

Offensive line:

LT Trent Williams – 72.3 pass blocking grade, three hurries

LG Aaron Banks – 76.5 pass blocking grade, two hurries

C Jake Brendel – 59.3 pass blocking grade, three hurries

RG Dominick Puni – 59.5 pass blocking grade, two hurries

RT Colton McKivitz – 42.8 pass blocking grade, one sack, one hit, three hurries

Defense:

Defensive line:

Maliek Collins – 83.5 pass rush grade, one sack, four hurries

Javon Hargrave – 80.9 pass rush grade – one sack four hurries

Nick Bosa – 70.7 pass rush grade – one hit, three hurries while playing all 58 snaps on defense

Sam Okuayinonu – 64.5 pass rush grade – one sack, one hurry

Kevin Givens and Leonard Floyd each earned one pressure while Yetur Gross-Matos and Robert Beal did not record any pressures.

Coverage grades:

S Ji’Ayir Brown – 75.9

Brown allowed one catch on three targets for eight yards

CB Deommodore Lenoir – 61.1

Lenoir allowed one catch on two targets for six yards.

CB Isaac Yiadom – 58.6

Yiadom allowed a 100-percent catch rate with five catches allowed in as many targets for 52 yards

CB Charvarius Ward – 36.7

Ward allowed three catches on six targets for 76 yards

LB De’Vondre Campbell – 35.3

Campbell allowed three catches in as many targets for 53 yards

Odds and ends:

TE Jake Tonges (86.9) received the highest run-blocking grade on the team as a result of his 88.1-rated gap-blocking.

WR Chris Conley’s 92.6 zone-blocking grade was the highest on the team.

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