PFF’s best and worst graded 49ers players vs. Buccaneers, plus snap counts

The San Francisco 49ers improved their record to 7-3 after a 27-14 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11. Today, Pro Football Focus released its grades from the game. Which Niners played well, and who has more work to do?

Below are Pro Football Focus' five highest-graded 49ers players on offense against the Buccaneers.

• George Kittle, TE, 87.8, 58 snaps
• Brandon Aiyuk, WR, 87.6, 53 snaps
• Brock Purdy, QB, 82.6, 60 snaps
• Trent Williams, LT, 74.8, 58 snaps
• Christian McCaffrey, RB, 69.7, 52 snaps

Below are the five highest-graded 49ers players on defense.

• Fred Warner, LB, 83.9, 71 snaps
• Arik Armstead, DT, 83.6, 53 snaps
• Tashaun Gipson Sr., FS, 80.1, 71 snaps
• Nick Bosa, DE, 78.6, 62 snaps
• Deommodore Lenoir, CB, 77.2, 71 snaps

Below are the three lowest-graded 49ers players on offense.

• Charlie Woerner, TE, 47.2, 22 snaps
• Jauan Jennings, WR, 52.0, 20 snaps
• Kyle Juszczyk, FB, 55.9, 25 snaps

Below are the three lowest-graded 49ers players on defense.

• Talanoa Hufanga, FS, 29.4, 35 snaps
• Oren Burks, LB, 37.2, 14 snaps
• Clelin Ferrell, DE, 48.8, 20 snaps

Quick Takeaways

Tight end George Kittle earned the game's highest overall Pro Football Focus grade. He finished with eight catches on nine targets for 89 yards and a touchdown. Kittle has recorded grades of 83.9 or higher in each of his last four games, with his 87.8 grade being the second-highest of that grouping.

The second-highest overall grade of the game (87.6) went to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who narrowly missed surpassing Kittle's mark. Aiyuk hauled in five catches on six targets for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown against the Buccaneers. He has recorded four games this season with 100 or more receiving yards and eight over his career. Aiyuk has amassed 831 receiving yards through nine games this season, putting him on pace for a career-high 1,477 receiving yards.

Quarterback Brock Purdy's 82.6 overall grade was the third-highest of his career. In fact, all three come from this season, with Purdy earning an 85.3 grade against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5 and a 91.7 grade against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 10. Purdy completed 21 of his 25 passing attempts for 333 yards and three touchdowns, earning a perfect passer rating of 158.3. He is the first 49ers quarterback to do so with a minimum of 20 pass attempts (Joe Montana did it in a game in 1989 on 19 attempts) and became the first 49ers quarterback to post a passer rating of 140.0 or higher in consecutive games since Alex Smith did so in 2012.

McCaffrey has now registered 485 receptions in his first seven NFL seasons, more than any other running back in NFL history during a similar span. The previous record holder was 49ers legend Roger Craig (483 receptions). McCaffrey rounded out the top five offensive 49ers players with a 69.7 overall grade.

Looking to the defensive side of the field, linebacker Fred Warner led all defenders in the game with an 83.9 overall grade. Sunday was the fourth time Warner has recorded a grade of 81.1 or higher in the last five games. The linebacker finished the game with a team-high 12 tackles while adding 0.5 sacks.

Defensive tackle Arik Armstead's 83.6 grade is his second-highest of the season (91.5 in Week 3), as is his pass-rush grade of 91.2 (91.3 in Week 3). He earned a game-high 12 pressures (Yes, 12) against Tampa Bay while recording a sack of quarterback Baker Mayfield. Armstead has now recorded 3.5 sacks over the last three games.

How did rookie safety Ji'Ayir Brown do in his first significant playing time, filling in for an injured Talanoa Hufanga? He just missed the top five 49ers defenders, earning the sixth-highest grade (76.8) among his defensive teammates. He recorded a coverage grade of 70.6 and the highest tackling grade on the team, with an 83.6 mark. Brown finished with four tackles, three passes defensed, and an interception in his 36 defensive snaps, and Mayfield had a passer rating of 56.3 when targeting him.

Snap Counts

Offense
60 - Brock Purdy (QB), Colton McKivitz (RT), Jake Brendel (C), Jon Feliciano (LG), Spencer Burford (RG)
58 - George Kittle (TE), Trent Williams (LT)
53 - Brandon Aiyuk (WR)
52 - Christian McCaffrey (RB)
51 - Deebo Samuel (WR)
25 - Kyle Juszczyk (FB)
22 - Charlie Woerner (TE)
20 - Jauan Jennings (WR)
8 - Elijah Mitchell (RB)
5 - Ronnie Bell (WR)
2 - Jaylon Moore (LT), Jordan Mason (RB), Ray-Ray McCloud III (WR), Ross Dwelley (TE)

Defense
71 - Deommodore Lenoir (CB), Dre Greenlaw (LB), Fred Warner (LB), Tashaun Gipson Sr. (FS)
70 - Charvarius Ward (CB)
62 - Nick Bosa (DE)
57 - Ambry Thomas (CB)
53 - Arik Armstead (DT)
50 - Javon Hargrave (DT)
48 - Chase Young (DE)
36 - Ji'Ayir Brown (FS)
35 - Talanoa Hufanga (FS)
21 - Javon Kinlaw (DT)
20 - Clelin Ferrell (DE)
18 - Kevin Givens (DT)
14 - Oren Burks (LB)
12 - Randy Gregory (LOLB)
1 - Isaiah Oliver (CB)

Special Teams
20 - Charlie Woerner
17 - Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, George Odum
15 - Dee Winters, Jordan Mason, Oren Burks, Shemar Jean-Charles
14 - Ross Dwelley
12 - Ji'Ayir Brown
11 - Darrell Luter Jr., Jake Moody (K)
8 - Mitch Wishnowsky (P), Taybor Pepper (LS)
6 - Isaiah Oliver, Ray-Ray McCloud III
5 - Colton McKivitz, Corey Luciano, Jaylon Moore, Jon Feliciano, Matt Pryor, Spencer Burford
4 - Ronnie Bell
2 - Ambry Thomas, Chase Young, Clelin Ferrell, Deommodore Lenoir, Fred Warner, Javon Kinlaw, Kevin Givens, Randy Gregory
1 - Talanoa Hufanga, Tashaun Gipson Sr.

Related News

• Kittle, Aiyuk and Warner Emerge as Week 11 PFF Top Performers 49ers.com • Nov 20, 2023
• How PFF graded Brock Purdy, 49ers in Week 11 win vs. Buccaneers NBCS Bay Area • Nov 20, 2023