San Francisco 49ers

GRADE
Date	Current	Previous
01/12/12	A-	B-
The final, hectic, five minutes bore no resemblance to the first 55, but QB Alex Smith and the offense got hot when they absolutely had to and mounted two touchdown drives of 80 and 85 yards at the end to twice steal the win from the Saints. The defense and special teams forced five takeaways, but faltered late. -- Michael Erler
01/05/12
12/29/11	B-	A-
The defense allowed the second-most points of the season and the 49ers allowed the Rams to recover an onside kick. But the defense also added to its league lead with two more takeaways and San Francisco had its second-highest point total of the season. -- Ron Clements, RapidReports Correspondent
12/22/11	A-	C-
Nothing about this game was easy for the 49ers, who were coming off a physical Monday Night win and playing on short rest against one of the hottest teams in the NFC, so style points or not, the 49ers deserve a lot of credit for this win, which keeps them in position to earn the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. After giving up big chunks of yardage in the first half, the defense stepped up big in the second half, allowing just 73 yards. -- John Boyle, RapidReports Correspondent
12/15/11
12/08/11	C-	A-
Alex Smith completed just 18 of 37 passes, the offensive line allowed five sacks and the defense, uncharacteristically, gave up big plays in the passing game to Cards backup QB John Skelton. Arizona's strategy of spreading out the 49ers defense worked well enough to hand San Francisco its third loss of the season one week after clinching the NFC West title. -- Craig Morgan, RapidReports Correspondent
12/01/11	A-	B-
Even without LB Patrick Willis, the NFC West champion 49ers had their most convincing win of the season. QB Alex Smith was 17-of-23 for 274 yards with two touchdowns and a career-high 142.3 passer rating and RB Frank Gore and K David Akers set franchise records for career rushing yards and most field goals in a single season, respectively. The defense had four sacks, two takeaways and allowed just 157 yards. -- Michael Erler, RapidReports Correspondent
11/24/11	B-	B+
The 49ers' OL did QB Alex Smith no favors, allowing him to be teed off on like the Ravens were at golf practice. Film study will be painful for this group which holds a lot of responsibility for San Francisco's loss. The defense did what it could, limiting Baltimore to 254 total yards and 16 points. -- Jason Butt, RapidReports Correspondent
11/17/11	B+	B+
The 49ers had an easy time of it in winning their eighth consecutive game, dominating from beginning to end more than the score suggests. The defense forced five turnovers in all, and intercepted Cardinals QB John Skelton three times. Alex Smith threw two touchdowns and WR Michael Crabtree had 120 yards receiving. -- Michael Erler, RapidReports Correspondent
11/10/11	B+	B
At 8-1 and coming off a thrilling game against a Giants team representing the number one media market, it will be impossible for the 49ers to be under the radar any longer. Alex Smith came out throwing and the offense shrugged off Frank Gore's injury to score just enough, while the defense capitalized on two INTs by CB Carlos Rogers. -- Michael Erler, RapidReports Correspondent
11/03/11	B	B
The 49ers were efficient and dominant. But they can't walk away saying they were at their best. San Francisco hurt itself with nine penalties and had to settle for four field goals. Defensively they played more zone and shut down a bad offense. The coverage was excellent as the Redskins' young wideouts could not get free. -- John Keim, RapidReports Correspondent
10/27/11	B	B-
The defense sacked Browns QB Colt McCoy four times and forced two turnovers and the offense rode a milestone game by RB Frank Gore, the return of WR Braylon Edwards and some timely trick plays to hold on 20-10 in a game that was closer than it should've been against the undermanned Browns. -- Michael Erler, RapidReports Correspondent
10/20/11
10/13/11	B-	A
Frank Gore's big-play ability -- and a breakout performance from Michael Crabtree -- helped the 49ers overcome 15 penalties and two costly turnovers for a mistake-filled win. San Francisco's veteran LB corps rendered Detroit's potent offense largely ineffective. Jim Harbaugh's team proved they're capable of the ugly wins playoff teams must have. -- John Kreger, RapidReports Correspondent
10/06/11	A	B
The 49ers dominated every phase of the game and had a blowout for the ages against the Buccaneers. They had over 400 yards of offense and more than 200 yards rushing. Alex Smith had three touchdowns and no INTs. The defense forced three turnovers, including a "pick-six" from CB Carlos Rogers. -- Michael Erler, RapidReports Correspondent
09/29/11	B	C+
It wasn't always pretty, but QB Alex Smith completed the passes he had to complete in the second half and RB Frank Gore made the tough yards. The defense gave up a lot of yards, but stiffened near the goal line and forced the Eagles to attempt four FGs. They missed two of them and that was the difference. -- Kevin Noonan, RapidReports Correspondent
09/22/11	C+	C-
To classify this win as anything less than ugly would be a mistake, but those are the types of games the 49ers need to win this year. Their defense kept the game close and put it away with two late interceptions, but the 49ers badly need to find consistency on the attack. -- Paul Dehner, RapidReports Correspondent
09/15/11	C-	B
Offense did some good things, considering both starting receivers were out, but blew leads of 14-0 and 24-14 to lose 27-24 in OT. The defensive backs had two picks, but were torched by Cowboys QB Tony Romo when it mattered. Coach Jim Harbaugh will be second-guessed for accepting a field goal when he could've chosen a first down on the 22-yard line with a 21-14 lead. -- Michael Erler, RapidReports Correspondent
09/08/11	B	-
The offense was far too conservative and didn't show much faith in QB Alex Smith and the passing game, but the line didn't allow a sack and the defense held the Seahawks to just 64 rushing yards, had five sacks and forced three turnovers. WR Ted Ginn blew open a close game with two late return touchdowns. -- Michael Erler, RapidReports Correspondent

GPA Key
A = 4.0	A- = 3.7	B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0	B- = 2.7	C+ = 2.3
C = 2.0	C- = 1.7	D+ = 1.3
D = 1.0	D- = 0.7