Grading 49ers’ offense, defense in decisive win over Cardinals

SANTA CLARA — Coach Kyle Shanahan was the only person who could keep Christian McCaffrey out of the end zone on Sunday. Shanahan said he did not realize McCaffrey had already scored four touchdowns or he would have given him one more opportunity in the fourth quarter. Instead, quarterback Brock Purdy had his number called on a 1-yard sneak to finish the scoring in the 49ers' 35-16 victory over the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. And as for Purdy . . . "He was great," Shanahan said. "He was almost perfect. He hung in there and made some big throws." As has become customary, the 49ers earned nice grades across the board with their fourth consecutive decisive victory to open the 2023 NFL season. Here are the grades from the 49ers' Week 4 win over the pesky Cardinals: Rushing offense The 49ers averaged just 4.0 yards on their 31 rushing attempts. Focus on the number of carries and not just the 124 yards rushing. This was the McCaffrey Show. He gained 106 yards and had three rushing touchdowns on 20 attempts. Backup Jordan Mason managed just 10 yards on three carries, and receiver Deebo Samuel had 6 yards on three carries. McCaffrey's best touchdown was an all-timer for the...