SANTA CLARA – Here is how the 49ers (3-1) graded in Sunday’s 26-21 home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1):
PASS OFFENSE: D
Tips and overthrows led to so many woes in Brock Purdy’s return from a two-game hiatus. Purdy passed for 309 total yards and two touchdowns, but all anyone will remember are his two interceptions and late-game fumble. Protection broke down as Purdy fumbled at midfield (on Arik Armstead’s strip sack) inside the final three minutes to seal the 49ers’ first loss. McCaffrey bobbled what was the first interception off Purdy near the red zone in the second quarter, and the second interception came on a tipped first-down pass with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Compounding Kendrick Bourne’s third-quarter drop of a potential third-down conversion was the Jaguars’ ensuing 87-yard punt return for a touchdown. Purdy’s touchdown passes went to McCaffrey and Jake Tonges, which aptly describes the jumbled state of a wide receiver corps that lost Ricky Pearsall to a third-quarter knee injury.
RUN OFFENSE: D
No fumbles here, but nowhere to run, either. McCaffrey gained 49 yards on 17 carries, the longest of which went for 11 yards. He and coach Kyle Shanahan insist a breakout run/game is coming. Four games in, everyone is waiting for it. Meanwhile, Brian Robinson got five carries and turned that into 21 yards. Purdy scrambled for an 11-yard gain and otherwise wasn’t as mobile as usual, which was expected after his Week 1 toe injury.
PASS DEFENSE: D
Trevor Lawrence was not sacked or even hit while completing 21-of-31 passes for a pedestrian 174 yards. His lone touchdown (4 yards) went to tight end Hunter Long against Marques Sigle’s coverage. Fred Warner flogged himself for having two potential interceptions slip through his fingers, and Upton Stout had a pass-interference penalty nullify a third-quarter pick right after the 49ers pulled within 17-14.
RUN DEFENSE: D-
Warner described this unit’s day as “horrible.” Travis Etienne Jr. raced for 124 yards, and although his 48-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was a crusher, he also had runs of 18, 11 and 11 yards. Nick Bosa’s pass-rushing presence is obviously missed, but so is his edge-setting ability as the Jaguars made sure to exploit the boundary. Still, there were some key stops after halftime, and among the defenders making them were Mykel Williams, Jordan Elliott, Darrell Luter Jr., Jason Pinnock and Kalia Davis.
SPECIAL TEAMS: D
Allowing Parker Washington’s 87-yard punt return for a touchdown was inexcusable, although the 49ers will argue that a penalty should have been called for a block in the back to nullify that third-quarter score. Eddy Pineiro made good on two field-goal attempts inside 30 yards before halftime. Skyy Moore had a 16-yard punt return and failed to take any of his three kick returns past 29 yards.
COACHING: D+
Don’t make this loss about defensive coordinator Robert Saleh taunting the Jaguars’ sign-stealing ability. Simply, it boiled down to a minus-4 turnover ratio. But it’s more complicated when there are so many mistakes. Asked what the special teams could have done better on the punt return for a touchdown, Shanahan responded: “Oh yeah, tackle the guy.” Now Shanahan and his crew must rebound fast Thursday night against the Rams in the annual pilgrimage to Levi’s South.