The San Francisco 49ers improved their record to 4-0 after a 35-16 win against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. 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 Cardinals.
- Brandon Aiyuk, WR, 93.4, 42 snaps
- Christian McCaffrey, RB, 91.0, 47 snaps
- Trent Williams, LT, 90.1, 54 snaps
- Brock Purdy, QB, 79.8, 54 snaps
- Willie Snead IV, WR, 79.0, 7 snaps
Below are the five highest-graded 49ers players on defense.
- Nick Bosa, DE, 89.6, 48 snaps
- Kendall Sheffield, CB, 84.8, 12 snaps
- Dre Greenlaw, LB, 70.1, 58 snaps
- Oren Burks, LB, 68.9, 19 snaps
- George Odum, FS, 67.2, 16 snaps
Below are the three lowest-graded 49ers players on offense.
- Deebo Samuel, WR, 48.7, 48 snaps
- Jordan Mason, RB, 57.0, 8 snaps
- Charlie Woerner, TE, 58.0, 7 snaps
Below are the three lowest-graded 49ers players on defense.
- Dee Winters, LB, 29.6, 11 snaps
- Kerry Hyder Jr., DE, 47.5, 19 snaps
- Javon Kinlaw, DT, 48.4, 30 snaps
Quick Takeaways
Running back Christian McCaffrey had a record-setting day, but wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk earned the game's top overall grade from Pro Football Focus. His 93.4 mark is the highest of his career. Aiyuk is having a superb season. His 93.5 overall grade through three games (he missed Week 3) is a career-high.
Aiyuk finished the game with six receptions for a career-high 148 yards. It's the sixth time he's reached 100 receiving yards in a game in his career.
McCaffrey came in with the second-highest overall grade. His 91.0 mark is his highest since Week 5 of the 2019 season (92.6). McCaffrey finished the game with 20 carries for 106 yards and three touchdowns, adding seven receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown through the air. The running back has now scored one or more touchdowns in 13 consecutive games, including the playoffs, setting a new franchise record, which the legendary Jerry Rice previously held.
Tackle Trent Williams was the team's highest-graded offensive lineman by a significant margin. The next closest offensive lineman to Williams' 90.1 overall grade was tackle Colton McKivitz at 70.2. The 90.1 mark was Williams' highest since Week 11 last season (94.4).
Quarterback Brock Purdy turned in a near-perfect performance, completing 20 of 21 passing attempts for 283 yards and a touchdown with a passer rating of 134.6. He also had a one-yard rushing touchdown. The second-year quarterback's 95.2 completion percentage is the highest single-game completion percentage in franchise history. Purdy's 79.8 overall grade is the highest of his career.
Defensive end Nick Bosa earned the defense's highest overall grade and the highest pass-rushing grade (90.0) of the game. Bosa finished with five total pressures, four hits, and a hurry. Sunday was his third consecutive game with a pass rush grade of 90 or higher.
The next highest pass-rushing grades belong to defensive tackles Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave, who respectively earned 71.9 and 71.8 marks. Armstead finished with two total pressures, a hit, and a hurry. Hargrave finished with four total pressures, a hit, two hurries, and earned the team's only sack.
While Javon Kinlaw's pass-rushing grade was the fourth-highest of the defense, his 48.4 overall grade was among the game's worst. Much of that had to do with a 37.3 run-defense grade.
The day before the game, cornerback Kendall Sheffield was elevated from the practice squad. He earned the highest grade of any defensive back in the game. Cardinals quarterback Joshua Dobbs targeted Sheffield twice, resulting in one catch for minus-four yards and a passer rating of 56.3. It's worth noting that Sheffield only played 12 snaps.
Dre Greenlaw's 70.1 overall grade was his highest of the season and the linebacker's highest since last season's WildCard game. Greenlaw has two games this season with a tackling grade of 82.5 or higher (82.5 - Week 4, 83.5 - Week 2). His 10 tackles in the game tied Fred Warner for the team-high. Greenlaw's 32 tackles this season are second on the team to Warner's 33.
Snap Counts
Offense
55 - Aaron Banks (LG), Colton McKivitz (RT), Jake Brendel (C), Spencer Burford (RG)
54 - Brock Purdy (QB), Trent Williams (LT)
53 - George Kittle (TE)
48 - Deebo Samuel (WR)
47 - Christian McCaffrey (RB)
42 - Brandon Aiyuk (WR)
36 - Kyle Juszczyk (FB)
13 - Ray-Ray McCloud III (WR)
9 - Ronnie Bell (WR)
8 - Jordan Mason (RB)
7 - Charlie Woerner (TE), Willie Snead IV (WR)
4 - Ross Dwelley (TE)
1 - Brayden Willis (TE), Jaylon Moore (LT), Sam Darnold (QB)
Defense
60 - Charvarius Ward (CB), Deommodore Lenoir (CB), Fred Warner (LB)
58 - Dre Greenlaw (LB), Talanoa Hufanga (FS), Tashaun Gipson Sr. (SS)
48 - Nick Bosa (DE)
45 - Isaiah Oliver (CB)
43 - Arik Armstead (DT)
41 - Drake Jackson (DE)
40 - Javon Hargrave (DT)
34 - Clelin Ferrell (DE)
30 - Javon Kinlaw (DT)
29 - Kevin Givens (DT)
22 - Ambry Thomas (CB)
19 - Kerry Hyder Jr. (DE), Oren Burks (LB)
16 - George Odum (FS)
12 - Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (LB), Ji'Ayir Brown (FS), Kendall Sheffield (CB)
11 - Dee Winters (LB)
1 - Brayden Willis (), Charlie Woerner (), Jordan Mason (), Ray-Ray McCloud III ()
Special Teams
18 - Charlie Woerner
16 - George Odum
15 - Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Kendall Sheffield
13 - Ji'Ayir Brown, Jordan Mason
12 - Dee Winters
11 - Jake Moody (K)
10 - Ross Dwelley
9 - Isaiah Oliver
8 - Ambry Thomas
7 - Oren Burks, Ray-Ray McCloud III
6 - Mitch Wishnowsky (P), Taybor Pepper (LS)
5 - Aaron Banks, Colton McKivitz, Jaylon Moore, Matt Pryor, Ronnie Bell, Spencer Burford
4 - Willie Snead IV
3 - Deommodore Lenoir, Drake Jackson, Fred Warner, Jon Feliciano
2 - Brayden Willis, Clelin Ferrell, Jake Brendel, Javon Kinlaw, Kerry Hyder Jr., Kevin Givens, Talanoa Hufanga
1 - Arik Armstead, Charvarius Ward, Dre Greenlaw, Javon Hargrave, Nick Bosa