PFF grades and snap counts from the 49ers/Ravens

The San Francisco 49ers battled the Baltimore Ravens but came up short. There is no such thing as a moral victory in the NFL, but it’s tough to feel down after having a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter against what many believe is the best team in the NFL. Here are the PFF grades and snap counts on both sides of the ball.

Offense-55 snaps total

George Kittle didn’t come off the field and for a good reason. This will be as close to a playoff game as it gets, and the snaps from the wideouts are telling — also, hats off to Kyle Shanahan for rolling with the better runner. Mostert out snapping Coleman 40 to 10 was surprising.

Top five PFF grades

McGlinchey 88.9

Mostert 73.2

Kittle 72.9

Brunskill 71.6

Bourne 68.6

Two weeks in a row, both tackles have made the top five. Neither allowed a sack or a hit. For McGlinchey, he had a few blocks that reminded us why he was selected so high. This is the version of McGlinchey the 49ers need. He was great, and we pointed that out on the podcast.

Kittle dominated the game differently than we’re used to seeing. Kittle had a couple of blocks where he sealed a Ravens defender, and Mostert would benefit. Kittle’s impact goes well beyond the box score.

Akash wrote an entire article on Mostert, who had four runs over ten yards, he forced six missed tackles and averaged 4.89 yards after contact. When the 49ers want to rely on their zone running scheme, Mostert should be the guy.

Bourne caught all three of his targets, made a guy miss, and each of them was needed. One of the catches Bourne went low to make a tough grab.

Bottom five PFF grades

Richburg 60.1

Coleman 52.3

Person 51.7

Garoppolo 49.0

Juszczyk 47.6

Coleman wasn’t effective, while both Person and Richburg had below-average grades as run blockers. PFF credited Garoppolo for two sacks, and the fumble can’t help his grade, either. There were a couple of throws that he put in harm’s way where Baltimore didn’t take advantage.

Defense-64 snaps

Armstead only missing four plays is something. I’m always impressed by defensive lineman that plays the majority of the game. On the flip side, the Ravens played so much 21 personnel that K’Waun Williams only played 20 snaps. It’s been obvious, to me anyway, that San Francisco is at their best when they have sub-packages in. Al-Shaair playing that many snaps were a good thing for Baltimore, and they took advantage.

Top five PFF grades

Harris 91.0

Warner 78.7

Sherman 76.6

Ward 76.3

Witherspoon 74.1

Harris ripped the ball away from Lamar Jackson, and that swung the momentum back into the 49er’s favor. That was easily one of the plays of the game.

Warner was fooled on the first touchdown, but he didn’t do much else wrong in the afternoon. Warner finished with nine tackles, five of which were stops. He also had two key pass breakups, one which he was running down the field with Marquise Brown. Warner is one of the better linebackers in the NFL.

The secondary didn’t get much action on the perimeter, but that didn’t stop them from making plays against the run. Both Ward and Sherman and multiple run stops, and Witherspoon had one himself. Each of the three only allowed one reception.

Bottom five grades

Jones 53.2

Thomas 50.4

Bosa 45.4

Greenlaw 45.4

Al-Shaair 39.7

I was very critical of Al-Shaair on Sunday. He missed three tackles, but that wasn’t what was frustrating. The roughing the passer call gifted the Ravens points, but what was driving me crazy was Al-Shaair’s run fits. Both he and Greenlaw weren’t aggressive, and it was hurting the defense. You can practice against this offense all you want, but it’s impossible to simulate Lamar and how many different directions they’ll have your eyes going. We saw growth the past two weeks from the youngsters, but they put up a stinker against Baltimore.

I don’t remember the three defensive linemen listed doing anything poorly, but they didn’t stand out, either. Bosa had one pressure and one tackle on the game. As a whole, the 49ers didn’t generate much pressure at all, and the lack of consistent pressure hurt them. I’m sure the weather and what Baltimore was doing had something to do with it. I guarantee you the defensive line won’t make excuses, and I’m not going to, either. I’m sure they’re all looking forward to playing a stationary quarterback.