San Francisco 49ers 17, Minnesota Vikings 23: Grades

What an embarrassment.

Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan reacts during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

MINNEAPOLIS -- The 49ers just lost 23-17 on the road to the Minnesota Vikings. Here are the 49ers' grades for this embarrassment.

BROCK PURDY: B-MINUS

He got sacked six times and still posted a passer rating of 101.3, which is impressive. Plus he led the offense down the field twice in the fourth quarter. But he turned the ball over twice -- one interception, one fumble that looked like an interception. Plus he nearly threw a pick on his final pass of the game. At times, he looked like a robot, mindlessly following Kyle Shanahan's orders. Purdy used to be a playmaker who would confidently spin away from pressure and ad-lib. Today, he just went down. He still is a good quarterback, but not a great one, and paying him $60 million per season would be insane. He's only dominant when he's surrounded by six All Pros. Today, he had merely five All Pros to lean on.

RUNNING BACKS: A-MINUS

Jordan Mason rushed 20 times for 100 yards and 1 touchdown -- he was the offensive MVP for the second game in a row. Unfortunately for the 49ers, none of their other running backs gained a yard on the ground. Mason is their only rushing threat. If he goes down, they're in major trouble.

WIDE RECEIVERS: B-MINUS

Deebo Samuel had 8 catches for 110 yards -- he was good. Brandon Aiyuk was invisible for most of the game. He finished with four catches for 43 yards and an illegal formation penalty. I guess $30 million per season doesn't get you as much as it used to. His backup, Jauan Jennings, had 37 receiving yards.

TIGHT ENDS: A-MINUS

George Kittle had 7 catches for 76 yards and 1 touchdown despite briefly leaving the game with leg cramps. He has to be a future Hall of Famer. He's as good at breaking tackles as any tight end I've seen other than Rob Gronkowski.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: C-MINUS

They performed well in the run game but they were putrid in pass protection as Purdy got sacked six times. And many of the sacks came off the left side where Trent Williams plays. He also had a penalty. It's interesting how McCaffrey makes this group look better than it is.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: C-PLUS

Nick Bosa had two sacks, but collectively the 49ers gave up 146 yards on the ground. They couldn't stop backup running back Ty Chandler, nor could they keep Sam Darnold in the pocket -- he rushed 5 times for 32 yards.

LINEBACKERS: A

Fred Warner was the best player on the field. He intercepted Darnold and forced a fumble at the goal line to save a touchdown. He's the only reason the 49ers didn't get flat-out humiliated in this game. He's a legitimate candidate to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: F

They gave up a passer rating of 109.1 to Sam Freaking Darnold, which is unacceptable considering Justin Jefferson left the game early and Jordan Addison didn't even play. Both George Odum and Isaac Yiadom were liabilities who should have been benched but weren't because Kyle Shanahan doesn't trust young players. More on him in a minute.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D-MINUS

They had a punt blocked and Jacob Cowing also muffed one but the 49ers recovered it. Special teams have been a problem since last season and the 49ers still haven't fixed it.

COACHES: F

On defense, the 49ers gave up just 23 points, but also allowed the Vikings to convert 7 of 12 third downs. Through two games, the 49ers "elite" defense has given up a third-down conversion rate of 59. Last season under defensive coordinator , they gave up a third-down conversion percentage of 42.5, which was awful. Now, they're even worse, which bodes poorly for rookie defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen. He needs to let Charvarius Ward follow the opposing team's no. 1 wide receiver every week, because teams are mostly avoiding him this season. But Sorensen isn't the reason the 49ers lost this game -- Kyle Shanahan is. He got severely outcoached by Kevin O'Connell and Brian Flores. Shanahan clearly had the better players, and yet he showed very little creativity without McCaffrey on the field. His pass patterns were no good and his protection schemes got exposed. This is the second year in a row he has traveled to Minnesota and scored just 17 points, which means he learned nothing from last year. Shanahan is incapable of growth. He's the biggest reason the 49ers ultimately won't win the Super Bowl.