San Francisco 49ers 34, Detroit Lions 40: Grades

What a fitting way to lose.

Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) is sacked by Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch (32) during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers just lost 40-34 to the Detroit Lions. Here are the 49ers' grades for this emabarrassing performance.

QUARTERBACK: C-MINUS

Brock Purdy was an extreme version of the quarterback he has been all season: terrific in the first half and awful in the second half. Tonight, he had a perfect 158.3 passer rating before halftime -- he looked like a quarterback who was worth $60 million per season. Then in the second half, when the pressure mounted in a game that didn't matter, he looked like a quarterback who was worth a ham sandwich. His passer rating after halftime was 75.9. He threw two interceptions to the same player -- free safety Kerby Joseph. Which means Purdy choked and Jared Goff didn't. That's why Goff is a franchise quarterback and Purdy isn't. Finally, Purdy got sacked and left the game with an injury to his surgically-repaired throwing elbow. He did not return and he will have an MRI on Tuesday. Yikes. The 49ers would be nuts to give him a contract extension this offseason. Instead, they should trade him to the Raiders or the Titans and sign Sam Darnold.

RUNNING BACKS: C

Isaac Guerendo averaged a meager 3.8 yards per carry, but he ran the ball just 9 times. He never got an opportunity to get in a rhythm.

FULLBACK: B-PLUS

Kyle Juszczyk caught a 9-yard touchdown pass. He now has scored 8 touchdowns in the past 4 seasons.

WIDE RECEIVERS: A

The 49ers finally stopped forcing the ball to Deebo Samuel and gave his targets to Ricky Pearsall instead, and the offense magically scored 34 points. Imagine that. Samuel finished the game with 1 5-yard touchdown catch which was a jet sweep. That was his only target of the game. Meanwhile, Pearsall got 10 targets, caught 8 of them, gained 147 yards and scored a touchdown. He was the offensive MVP. He should have been getting Samuel's targets the past two months when the games really mattered. It's ridiculous that the 49ers waited until they were eliminated from the playoffs to feature their most explosive wide receiver.

TIGHT ENDS: A

George Kittle caught 8 passes on 8 targets for 112 yards and he had another long catch called back because of a penalty. He is the best tight end in the NFL, a future Hall of Famer and it's an honor to cover him. What a shame the 49ers wasted one of his best seasons.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: B

Charlie Heck and Nick Zakelj started at left tackle and left guard respectively and the 49ers still gave up only two sacks. Not bad. Unfortunately for the 49ers, Purdy injured his elbow during the second sack.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: D

They gave up 152 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns, including a 30-yard TD to seal the loss, plus they sacked Jared Goff, a statue, only twice. The 49ers have one good defensive lineman -- Nick Bosa. The rest of this group is expendable.

LINEBACKERS: F

These guys can't stop the run without Dre Greenlaw. Fred Warner made no impact whatsoever. His contract number will be $29.1 million next season. He needs to take a pay cut.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: F

They gave up 303 yards and 3 touchdown catches and never came close to intercepting Jared Goff. They made him look like Peyton Manning.

SPECIAL TEAMS: F-PLUS

The plus goes to Deebo Samuel who has found his true calling as a kick returner -- tonight he gained 132 kick-return yards. Good for him. The F goes to Jake Moody who missed a 51-yard field goal, a 58-yard field goal and an extra point for good measure. That means he cost the 49ers 7 points in a game they lost by 6. The 49ers should have released him after missed an extra point in the Super Bowl, but they didn't and so he keeps costing them games. That's on them.

COACHES: D

Nick Sorensen was awful in every way, but especially on fourth down. He called some of the softest zone coverages and gave up some of the easiest first-down catches in the most critical moments. First, on fourth and goal from the 4, he called a zone coverage that was so soft, the defensive backs lined up five yards deep in the end zone. So Goff threw a short pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was wide open, and he walked into the end zone. Later in the game on fourth and 3, Sorensen called another soft zone, and this time Goff hit his tight end who was wide open for 19 yards. In both cases, man-to-man coverage would have taken away the quick, easy throws. The 49ers need a new defensive coordinator. Now let's talk about Kyle Shanahan. He had a vintage Kyle Shanahan performance. He built an 8-point lead in the first half, and then he gave it away in the second half by passing too much. At one point, he called 10 passes in a row when it was a one-score game. The 10th pass got intercepted. In addition, it's clear that he waited two months too long to bench Deebo Samuel for Ricky Pearsall. Had Shanahan made that bold move in November, the 49ers might have a winning record right now. But even with Pearsall playing great, Shanahan still found a way to lose because he kept putting the game in the hands of his choke-artist quarterback and choke-artist kicker. Had he simply cut Moody months ago and committed to running the ball as the Lions did, he might have won. Story of his career. And to top it all off, Shanahan got his quarterback injured while trailing by 12 points with fewer than two minutes left in a game that didn't matter. The 49ers need a new head coach. Don't they know that by now?