49ers 17, Bengals 31: Grades

I thoroughly enjoyed the Brock Purdy Era.

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers just lost 31-17 to the Cincinnati Bengals, and now sit at second place in the NFC West after losing three straight. Here are the 49ers' grades for this performance.

BROCK PURDY: F

For the second game in a row, he was the main reason the 49ers lost. He threw two picks in the second half when the game was in the balance. He also fumbled once, which means he committed three turnovers. He also threw a pass that almost was picked but was dropped by a linebacker in the second quarter. Plus he threw another interception that was negated due to a roughing-the-passer call. Suddenly, the clock has struck midnight on the Brock Purdy Cinderella story. He's turning into a pumpkin before our eyes. Actually, he's turning into Jimmy Garoppolo. To be fair, Purdy is a much better scrambler than Garoppolo -- Purdy rushed for a team-high 57 yards in this game and most of those runs were scrambles. But when it comes to actually throwing the football, he's Garoppolo 2.0. Call him Purdy G. He finds ways to throw interceptions to linebackers standing right in front of him. In this game, his first pick went to a linebacker standing literally feet away from him. It was one of the worst picks you'll ever see. Purdy is becoming a turnover machine, which is what he was in training camp. It was only a matter of time before his penchant for turning the ball over popped up in real games. Now it's time for the 49ers to be honest about Purdy -- he's not the real deal. He's not their franchise quarterback. The Brock Purdy Era is over and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now they need to bench him during the bye week and see what they have in Sam Darnold. Maybe he can commit fewer turnovers.

RUNNING BACKS: A-MINUS

Christian McCaffrey scored two touchdowns and gained 118 yards from scrimmage while averaging a respectable 4.5 yards per carry behind an offensive line that was missing Trent Williams.

WIDE RECEIVERS: B

Brandon Aiyuk was the only wide receiver on the team who could get open -- he had 109 receiving yards. But he also let a pass hit him in the face. Had he caught it, the 49ers would have been in field goal range before halftime.

TIGHT ENDS: A-MINUS

George Kittle gained a whopping 149 receiving yards but also dropped two passes. Still, he was one of their best players on the field.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: C-MINUS

Their run blocking was decent and they gave up only two sacks, although Purdy escaped lots of pressure.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: D

Arik Armstead was excellent -- he had two sacks, more than he's had the past two seasons combined. The rest of the defensive line was invisible. Nick Bosa had 0.5 sacks and now has just 4 in his past 13 games. That's a troubling trend. He also gave up the final touchdown of the game on a run by Joe Mixon. Bosa hasn't come close to living up to contract. Neither has Javon Hargrave.

LINEBACKERS: D

Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw combined for 18 tackles, but also seemed to combine for 18 missed tackles as the Bengals rushed for 5 yards per carry.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: F

They let Joe Burrow complete 28 of 32 passes. That's hard to do in a walkthrough against air. The 49ers actually had 11 defenders on the field and still gave up a completion percentage of 88. Unheard of. I can't remember a 49ers secondary ever playing worse. The 49ers need to trade for a cornerback tomorrow.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A 

Can't blame Jake Moody for this loss. He made his one field goal attempt.

COACHES: F

The 49ers need to fire Steve Wilks tonight. Nothing he calls works. In the first half, he called mostly zone coverage with two deep safeties and got gashed. In the second half, he called mostly press-man coverage with one deep safety and still got gashed. The players don't seem to have bought into whatever he's trying to do and the defense is playing with no confidence. Blame Kyle Shanahan for hiring a defensive coordinator who never has run the wide 9 to run the wide 9. That decision was doomed from the beginning. So was the decision to play Purdy in this game just six days after he suffered a concussion. Purdy was awful, plus he bounced his head off the turf in the fourth quarter. Shanahan should have saved Purdy from himself and started Sam Darnold -- he couldn't have been worse. For the third week in a row, Shanahan's offense has scored just 17 points. And since he has been the head coach, the 49ers are 0-37 when trailing by 8 or more points in the fourth quarter. Some offensive genius he is. The 49ers never should have extended his contract after Week 3. He now has been outcoached three weeks in a row. Let's see if he finds any answers during the upcoming bye week.