San Francisco 49ers 24, Los Angeles Rams 27: Grades

INGLEWOOD – The 49ers just lost 27-24 to the Los Angeles Rams. Here are the 49ers' grades for that pathetic performance.

BROCK PURDY: A.

He proved he doesn't need Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey to be effective. He doesn't even need Brandon Aiyuk to be at his best. All he needs is Jauan Jennings. Granted, Purdy faced arguably the worst defense in the NFL. Still, Purdy threw for 292 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 41 yards. To be fair, he dropped the ball once, but overall he was excellent. And he couldn't rely on his dominant running game. He carried the offense.

RUNNINGBACKS: B.

The Rams had eight defenders in the box for most of the game, which meant Jordan Mason averaged just 4.1 yards per run. He still ran hard, but he didn't have much room to run.

WIDE RECEIVER: B-PLUS

Jauan Jennings played the game of his life. He caught 11 passes for 175 yards and 3 touchdowns. Frankly, they should have thrown more to him. He was their best weapon by far. And he is clearly the best wide receiver on the team. Better than Brandon Aiyuk, who had 5 catches of 10 attempts for 43 yards. Better than Deebo Samuel, who is always injured. The 49ers offense is so much better when they don't have to force the ball to those two overpaid wide receivers. Jennings should be their go-to guy for years to come. And Ronnie Bell should never play again. He dropped a long pass that would have set up the game-winning field goal. Jacob Cowing should have been on the field in his place.

TIGHT ENDS: C-MINUS.

George Kittle missed the game with a strained calf, and Eric Saubert caught for 41 yards in his place. But the 49ers had a lot of trouble running the ball without Kittle's excellent blocking performance.

Offensive player: C-PLUS.

They only allowed one sack, but that was because Brock Purdy escaped pressure. They didn't block well in the run game against a terrible run defense. Colton McKivitz allowed one sack/fumble. And Jake Brendel was just awful as usual.

Defensive player: C.

They sacked Matthew Stafford three times, but also allowed three walk-in touchdowns to Rams running back Kyren Williams despite manning the box the entire game. The 49ers' defense is weak.

LINEBACKER: D.

Fred Warner recorded just four tackles and De'Vondre Campbell committed a pass interference penalty when the game was on the line.

Defender: F.

Charvarius Ward dropped a 50-yard catch to Tutu Atwell in the fourth quarter. Overall, this group gave up a passer rating of 105.6 to a team missing both wide receivers. Pathetic.

SPECIAL TEAMS: F-MINUS.

First, they allowed a fake punt that resulted in a first down. Then Jake Moody missed a 55-yard field goal. Finally, the coverage unit allowed a 37-yard punt return that gave the Rams the ball at midfield on the final series. The special teams lost the game for the 49ers.

COACH: F.

Nick Sorensen didn't know how to stop Kyren Williams and Tutu Atwell – two mediocre players. After three games, Sorensen appears to be a downgrade from Steve Wilks. On offense, Kyle Shanahan has handled the absences of McCaffrey, Samuel and Kittle well. But Shanahan's refusal to use rookies unless he absolutely has to get injured again today, stubbornly letting cornerback Isaac Yiadom and wide receiver Ronnie Bell play instead of rookies Renardo Green and Jacob Cowing, and those decisions ruined the 49ers' chances. Shanahan is a terrible player-manager. Now his highly paid team of veteran players appears to be decidedly mediocre. Last week's loss to the Vikings was no fluke. The Vikings are better than the 49ers. So are many other teams.