PFF grades, stats for 49ers-Chargers

The San Francisco 49ers are almost finished with this train wreck of a season, but we have a little bit left of Pro Football Focus recap content. Today, we're back with some of the notable 49ers grades and stats from PFF following their loss to the San Diego Chargers. The 49ers started strong, but an ugly second half collapse cost them the victory.

If you have any questions about this info, let me know. I can't go in and copy and paste all their content here because they make a living off that information. However, I can provide some details. And if you have any questions about their process, let me know and I can talk to Jeff Deeney, who is available to answer questions as best he can. You can also read over PFF's ReFo for the game.

Usual disclaimer: No one stat or grade or measurement is the be-all, end-all when analyzing performance. However, each stat can provide a little something extra to figuring out the bigger picture. If you get a minute, I highly recommend reading this 2-part series (Part 1, Part 2) at our Eagles blog, taking a look at their system.

Coverage

The 49ers secondary looked sharp in the first half, but fell apart in the second half. The group was likely worn down by the lack of a pass rush, but there were several notable coverage mistakes during the game

Perrish Cox had an up and down game. He allowed seven receptions on ten targets, good for 82 yards and a touchdown. However, he earned a +1.2 coverage grade due to his interception and pass break-up. The interception was big, but it also was as much a bad throw by Philip Rivers. It went to the wrong shoulder, in a similar fashion to the first Colin Kaepernick pass Richard Sherman intercepted in the Seahawks game.

Craig Dahl had a poor performance in replacing Eric Reid at free safety. Dahl finished with a -3.4 overall grade, and -2.7 in coverage. He was assigned blame for three Eddie Royal receptions on four targets, for 46 yards and a touchdown. He also had two missed tackles.

Dontae Johnson had a tough night in coverage, getting a -2.1 grade. PFF marked him down as giving up seven receptions for 81 yards. This marked his third game with a coverage grade in the red (worse than -1.0). He had two green grades (higher than +1.0) early in the season, and has bounced between -1.0 and +1.0 the rest of the way. It's been a significant learning experience for the young cornerback, and it's safe to say he will be in the thick of the competition for a starting role next season.

No pass rush

The 49ers pass rush was not quite non-existent, but it struggled for the most part. Aldon Smith brought up the rear with a -2.0 pass rush grade. He was credited with 4 hurries on 48 pass rush snaps. After two strong performances to start his season against the Giants and Washington, he has been very quiet.

Dan Skuta and Quinton Dial each had a sack, and were on the short list of positive pass rushers. Dial finished with a sack and four hurries, netting him a +1.8 grade. That combined with a +2.0 run grade helped him finish with a +3.9 grade that was highest on the defense.

Colin Kaepernick

The highlight of Kap's day was his 90-yard touchdown run. In passing, he finished 15 of 24 for 114 yards and a touchdown. He had a pair of touchdowns called back, once on an offensive holding penalty, and once on a chop block penalty. Conceivably the second one could have added a 63-yard touchdown, but I need to go back and see if the chop block allowed the play to happen. Kap was otherwise 0-3 on pass attempts 10+ yards down the field. Over the last four games, Kap is 6-for-31 for 122 yards and four interceptions on such pass attempts.

Offensive line

The 49ers offensive line had a fairly good day in terms of blocking, but Anthony Davis and Joey Staley's grades took a sizable hit due to penalties. Staley was called for an offensive holding call that negated an Anquan Boldin touchdown, illegal formation and unsportsmanlike conduct on the Colin Kaepernick fumble that turned into a Chargers touchdown, and a declined illegal formation penalty early in the fourth quarter. It's kind of odd, because none of the penalties actually hurt the 49ers. The holding cost the 49ers a touchdown, but they ended up scoring a few plays later. The two penalties on the fumble resulted in a better kickoff location for the Chargers, but Colin Kaepernick followed that up with his 90-yard touchdown run.

Anthony Davis was called for two penalties. One was an illegal formation on Vernon Davis's negated touchdown (Davis penalty declined, Gore chop block accepted), and the other was for being an ineligible man downfield. That was declined as well.

Here are the full grades for the offensive line:

Joe Staley: +1.0 overall, -1.2 pass block, 4.9 run block, -2.7 penalty
Mike Iupati: +1.6 overall, +0.5 pass block, 1.4 run block
Marcus Martin: -1.5 overall, -0.6 pass block, -1.0 run block
Alex Boone: +2.6 overall, +1.5 pass block, +0.9 run block
Anthony Davis: +1.5 overall, +0.8 pass block, +2.4 run block, -1.7 penalty

To buy tickets, visit the NFL Ticket Exchange.