The San Francisco 49ers kicked off their 2026 season with a 1-0 record after a 27-7 win against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1. Pro Football Focus released its grades and snap counts from the game, providing a closer look at which 49ers players stood out and who has more work to do.
Highest-graded 49ers: Offense
- Mike Evans, WR, 77.9, 49 snaps
- Colton McKivitz, RT, 75.1, 65 snaps
- Deebo Samuel, WR, 69.6, 27 snaps
- Jake Brendel, C, 69.0, 65 snaps
- Trent Williams, LT, 68.8, 65 snaps
Highest-graded 49ers: Defense
- Fred Warner, LB, 91.1, 53 snaps
- Nick Bosa, DE, 86.2, 36 snaps
- Upton Stout, CB, 80.4, 36 snaps
- Marques Sigle, FS, 80.2, 61 snaps
- Jack Jones, CB, 70.6, 8 snaps
Lowest-graded 49ers: Offense
- Kyle Juszczyk, FB, 44.4, 33 snaps
- Jacob Cowing, WR, 44.6, 5 snaps
- De'Zhaun Stribling, WR, 46.8, 21 snaps
- George Kittle, TE, 47.0, 30 snaps
- Jake Tonges, TE, 53.4, 8 snaps
Lowest-graded 49ers: Defense
- James Thompson Jr., DT, 29.1, 21 snaps
- Gracen Halton, DT, 30.4, 31 snaps
- CJ West, DT, 33.2, 23 snaps
- Dre Greenlaw, LB, 35.4, 40 snaps
- Garret Wallow, LB, 45.8, 13 snaps
Highest-graded Rams
- Steve Avila, LG, 84.9, 61 snaps
- Trent McDuffie, CB, 83.4, 65 snaps
- Coleman Shelton, C, 83.2, 61 snaps
- Quentin Lake, SS, 78.8, 65 snaps
- Puka Nacua, WR, 76.0, 43 snaps
Quarterback play
Brock Purdy was, by far, the best quarterback in Australia this week. He completed 25 of 34 attempts for 205 yards with three touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 105.6. The interception hurt Purdy's overall grade, as the quarterback finished with a 63.3 offensive grade and a 58.4 passing grade.
However, Purdy's 72.4 run grade gave him a boost. He finished with 29 rushing yards on five carries.
For the Rams, reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford completed 15 of 25 attempts for 155 yards with no touchdowns, one interception, and a 61.2 passer rating. He earned a 41.5 offensive grade and a 42.3 passing grade. His offensive grade was the third-lowest among all offensive players in the game.
Highest marks
Linebacker Fred Warner, who was limited to six games last season after suffering an ankle injury, was the game's highest-graded player. He was credited with a game-high 11 tackles, one pass defensed, and a forced fumble.
Warner finished with a 91.1 defensive grade. But that wasn't the only category in which he led (see below).
Blocking
Right tackle Colton McKivitz's 75.1 offensive grade was the highest among 49ers offensive linemen, while left guard Connor Colby's 53.5 offensive grade was the lowest.
McKivitz also earned the best run-blocking grade among 49ers offensive linemen at 77.8, while Colby earned the lowest at 51.7.
The best pass-blocking grade in the game went to right guard Dominick Puni, who earned an 82.7 mark in that category. Colby was the lowest-graded pass blocker among 49ers offensive linemen at 60.8.
Interestingly, tight end George Kittle, who returned from an Achilles injury, was the 49ers' lowest-graded pass blocker overall, earning a 42.2 mark in that category.
While quarterback Brock Purdy was not sacked in the game, Colby and left tackle Trent Williams surrendered two pressures each, leading the team.
In total, the 49ers surrendered eight pressures, with seven charged to the offensive line.
- LG Connor Colby, LT Trent Williams — 2 each
- C Jake Brendel, RT Colton McKivitz, RG Dominick Puni — 1 each
Other 49ers pressures allowed:
- TE George Kittle — 1
Pass catchers
Wide receiver Mike Evans earned the 49ers' best receiving grade at 76.8, trailing only Rams running back Ronnie Rivers (78.7) in the game. Evans finished with six catches for 49 yards and a touchdown in his 49ers debut.
Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson ranked second on the team with a 69.0 receiving grade, while wide receiver Deebo Samuel was third with a 67.4 mark.
Center Jake Brendel's one catch for two yards earned him a 63.2 receiving grade, the highest mark among 49ers players who were not wide receivers.
Running back Christian McCaffrey recorded five receptions for 20 yards on eight targets, earning a team-low 45.2 receiving grade.
Drops:- WR Mike Evans, RB Christian McCaffrey, WR Deebo Samuel — 1 each
Rushing
Running back Christian McCaffrey earned a 75.7 run grade, the highest in the game. He finished with 10 carries for a game-high 68 rushing yards, splitting carries with rookie Kaelon Black, whose 59.1 run grade was the lowest among 49ers players.
Black finished with 14 carries for 65 rushing yards.
The only other 49ers players to earn run grades were quarterback Brock Purdy, who earned a 72.4 mark, and wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who earned a 62.8 mark. Samuel had one carry for 12 rushing yards.
Pass rush
Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa earned a 74.3 pass-rush grade, the highest in the game. He finished with a game-high five pressures, three hits, and two hurries.
Second-year defensive tackle CJ West, who started in place of injured rookie Alfred Collins, earned the second-highest pass-rush grade among 49ers defenders at 70.2.
Rookie defensive tackle James Thompson Jr. earned a 52.1 pass-rush grade, the lowest in the game.
Pressures by 49ers defenders:- DT Osa Odighizuwa — 5
- DE Ogbo Okoronkwo — 3
- DE Nick Bosa, DT Gracen Halton, DE Khalid Kareem, CB Upton Stout, DT CJ West, DE Keion White — 1 each
Run defense
Linebacker Fred Warner earned the game's highest run-defense grade at 88.4, tallying two stops. Defensive end Nick Bosa earned the second-highest run-defense grade in the game with an 87.4 mark.
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw was the 49ers' lowest-graded run defender, earning a 28.5 mark in that category. Rookie defensive tackle Gracen Halton earned the second-lowest mark with a 29.3 run-defense grade, while defensive tackle James Thompson Jr. had the third-lowest at 29.4. Rounding out the bottom four was defensive tackle CJ West, who earned a 29.9 run-defense grade.
Pass defense
Linebacker Fred Warner led the 49ers in yet another category, earning an impressive 85.3 coverage grade. He allowed two catches for 24 yards and recorded a pass breakup on three targets.
Only safety Quentin Lake (89.8) and cornerback Trent McDuffie (85.4) had higher coverage grades than Warner in the game.
Cornerback Upton Stout earned the highest coverage grade among 49ers defensive backs at 73.6, allowing one reception for three yards on three targets.
The 49ers' lowest coverage grade went to linebacker Garret Wallow at 31.0, although it was based on a small sample size. He allowed one reception for five yards on one target.
Tackling
Safety Marques Sigle earned an 89.0 tackling grade, the highest in the game. He was credited with nine tackles, including four solo stops.
The game's lowest-graded tackler was linebacker Garret Wallow, who earned a 26.0 tackling grade.
Missed tackles by 49ers defenders:- FS Ji'Ayir Brown — 2
- LB Dre Greenlaw, LB Garret Wallow — 1 each
49ers Week 1 snap counts
Offense
65 - Brock Purdy (QB), Colton McKivitz (RT), Connor Colby (LG), Dominick Puni (RG), Jake Brendel (C), Trent Williams (LT)
49 - Mike Evans (WR)
46 - Luke Farrell (TE)
41 - Demarcus Robinson (WR)
36 - Christian McCaffrey (RB)
33 - Kyle Juszczyk (FB)
30 - George Kittle (TE)
28 - Kaelon Black (RB)
27 - Deebo Samuel (WR)
21 - De'Zhaun Stribling (WR)
8 - Jake Tonges (TE)
5 - Jacob Cowing (WR)
1 - KhaDarel Hodge (WR)
Defense
61 - Deommodore Lenoir (CB), Marques Sigle (FS), Renardo Green (CB)
55 - Ji'Ayir Brown (FS)
53 - Fred Warner (LB)
40 - Dre Greenlaw (LB)
36 - Nick Bosa (DE), Osa Odighizuwa (DT), Upton Stout (CB)
34 - Jaden Dugger (LB)
31 - Gracen Halton (DT)
30 - Keion White (DE), Romello Height (DE)
23 - CJ West (DT)
21 - James Thompson Jr. (DT)
19 - Khalid Kareem (DE)
18 - Ogbo Okoronkwo (DE)
13 - Garret Wallow (LB)
8 - Jack Jones (CB)
6 - Malik Mustapha (FS)
Special Teams
18 - Luke Farrell
13 - Ashtyn Davis, Garret Wallow, Luke Gifford, Siran Neal
12 - Eddy Pineiro (K), Jaden Dugger, KhaDarel Hodge
10 - Malik Mustapha
8 - Corliss Waitman (P), Jon Weeks (LS), Marques Sigle
7 - Ji'Ayir Brown
6 - Carver Willis, Colton McKivitz, Connor Colby, Dominick Puni, Jarrett Patterson, Kyle Juszczyk, Vederian Lowe
5 - Jacob Cowing
4 - Jake Tonges
3 - Romello Height
2 - Deebo Samuel, Deommodore Lenoir, Fred Warner, Jack Jones, Keion White, Osa Odighizuwa
1 - CJ West, Dre Greenlaw, Gracen Halton, Nick Bosa, Ogbo Okoronkwo, Renardo Green, Upton Stout
Mentioned in this article: Kaelon Black, Nick Bosa, Jake Brendel, Ji'Ayir Brown, Connor Colby, Alfred Collins, Jacob Cowing, Ashtyn Davis, Jaden Dugger, Mike Evans, Luke Farrell, Luke Gifford, Renardo Green, Dre Greenlaw, Gracen Halton, Romello Height, KhaDarel Hodge, Jack Jones, Kyle Juszczyk, Khalid Kareem, George Kittle, Deommodore Lenoir, Vederian Lowe, Christian McCaffrey, Colton McKivitz, Malik Mustapha, Siran Neal, Osa Odighizuwa, Ogbo Okoronkwo, Jarrett Patterson, Dominick Puni, Brock Purdy, Demarcus Robinson, Deebo Samuel, Marques Sigle, Upton Stout, De'Zhaun Stribling, James Thompson, Jake Tonges, Corliss Waitman, Garret Wallow, Fred Warner, Jon Weeks, Keion White, Trent Williams, Carver Willis
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