49ers players take in FC Barcelona vs Manchester United match

The San Francisco 49ers improved to 4-5 after dismantling the Los Angeles Rams 31-10 in Week 10. 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 Rams. Trent Williams, T, 93.7, 68 snaps George Kittle, TE, 91.7, 52 snaps Deebo Samuel, WR, 90.6, 49 snaps Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, 82.1, 68 snaps Ross Dwelley, TE, 80.8, 9 snaps Below are the five highest-graded 49ers players on defense. Talanoa Hufanga, FS, 77.7, 56 snaps Jimmie Ward, SS, 76.3, 55 snaps Azeez Al-Shaair, LB, 66.6, 53 snaps Arden

The San Francisco 49ers defense knew it had to step up after an embarrassing performance in Week 9 against an injury-depleted Arizona Cardinals team. No one was giving them a chance against a potent Los Angeles Rams offense, but the entire team stepped up, and the 49ers routed their division rival 31-10. Linebacker Fred Warner, defensive lineman Arik Armstead, and safety Jimmie Ward, the 49ers' team captains on defense, met the night before the primetime matchup to discuss what needed to change. Later, they addressed the rest of the defense. "Sunday night before the Monday game, [defensive coordinator] DeMeco [Ryans] had asked for us three captains on the defense, me, Jimmie, and Arik, to just speak to the defense," Warner told NBC Sports Bay Area. "And I asked

The San Francisco 49ers improved to 5-5 after routing the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-10 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 Jaguars. Brandon Aiyuk, WR, 83.7, 64 snaps George Kittle, TE, 83.0, 57 snaps Trent Williams. LT, 80.1, 62 snaps Charlie Woerner, TE, 76.0, 13 snaps Daniel Brunskill, RG, 74.8, 64 snaps Below are the five highest-graded 49ers players on defense. Marcell Harris, LB, 91.3, 7 snaps Josh Norman, CB, 89.6, 37 snaps Talanoa Hufanga, FS, 88.4, 16

Upon being hired as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Kyle Shanahan planned to be patient and build a roster in preparation for potentially inserting quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins was with Washington at the time, but it was a near-certainty that the relationship would eventually end. The 49ers coached rolled with placeholders until that time presented itself. The 49ers have admitted that they looked into potentially trading for Cousins. However, with the situation in Washington speeding toward an eventual divorce, it seemed to make more sense to wait and see what happened. There was also the obstacle of the strained relationship between the Shanahans and Washington. Cousins never ended up in Santa Clara with Shanahan. The free-agent quarterback