SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers seemingly did not waste much time or effort in disposing of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
In a thoroughly overwhelming performance, the 49ers destroyed the Panthers on both sides of the ball en route to a 51-13 victory to remain unbeaten after seven games.
“In the NFL, you never expect to just blow someone out like that, especially a good team like that,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “They’re a real good team.”
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The 49ers are 7-0 for the first time since 1990 and only the second time in franchise history.
The 49ers brought an abrupt end to Carolina’s four-game winning streak. And here are the grades to reflect the complete domination:
Rushing Offense
Tevin Coleman had his finest day with the 49ers, as he gained 105 yards and three touchdowns on 11 rushing attempts. The 49ers’ offensive line did a great job of working their intricate blocking schemes to gauge the Panthers’ usually stout defense.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers gained 232 rushing yards on 38 rushing attempts, numbers that include three Nick Mullens kneeldowns for minus-3 yards to run out the clock after the two-minute warning.
Raheem Mostert added 60 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, and wide receiver Deebo Samuel got involved in the ground game, as he tore off a 20-yard touchdown run.
Grade: A
Passing Offense
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo looked for new wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders on the first drive, and ended up delivering a 4-yard touchdown pass to the veteran for his 40th career score. Sanders stepped in seamlessly after arriving Tuesday in a trade with the Denver Broncos.
Garoppolo completed 18 of 22 pass attempts for 175 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. His passer rating was 111.2. Tight end George Kittle caught six passes for 86 yards.
On the down side, Garoppolo threw an interception when Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly stepped in front of a pass intended for George Kittle. Panthers edge rusher Bruce Irvin beat left tackle Justin Skule for a sack in the end zone for a safety.
Grade: B-plus
Rushing Defense
Statistically, Christian McCaffrey had a big game, as he rushed for 117 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown run, on 14 attempts. But the 49ers did a good enough job on most early downs that they set the Panthers up for difficult third-down situations.
Linebacker Fred Warner and nose tackle D.J. Jones did a good job in the run game, as they led the 49ers with six and five tackles, respectively. As many yards as the 49ers surrendered, they were not important yards.
Grade: B-plus
Passing Defense
This was about as good as it could possibly get for the 49ers’ pass defense.
Emmanuel Moseley, Richard Sherman and Nick Bosa generated takeaways with interceptions of Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen, who came into the game with no interceptions in five career starts.
The pass rush was relentless, as Bosa led the way with three quarterback sacks. Arik Armstead added two sacks, while Jones and Ronald Blair recorded one sack apiece.
The 49ers held Carolina to just 100 net yards passing. It’s the fourth consecutive game the 49ers have given up 100 or fewer yards passing, following games against Washington (50), the Los Angeles Rams (48) and Cleveland (78).
The last time any team in the NFL held an opponent to 100 yards or fewer net passing in four consecutive games was in 1977, when the 49ers and Atlanta Falcons both accomplished that feat.
Grade: A-plus
Special Teams
Punter Mitch Wishnowsky compiled a solid 40.3-yard net punting average, which won the day over Carolina’s 37.7 net average. Richie James had another solid day with an 8.2 average on six punt returns.
Robbie Gould made a 20-yard field goal. Long-snapper Kyle Nelson looked a little rusty as he completed his 10-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The 49ers botched an extra point.
Wishnowsky made a tackle on a kickoff, but was also called for an unnecessary roughness penalty for a helmet-to-helmet hit.
Grade: B-minus
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Overall
This was supposed to be a true test for the 49ers, facing a hot Carolina team with an extra week to prepare coming off the bye. So much for that. This was never really a game.
The 49ers destroyed the Panthers in every imaginable way, beginning with an offensive approach that appeared to leave Carolina completely dumbfounded from the opening drive of the game. It was the 49ers’ largest offensive explosion since a 55-17 victory over Detroit late in the 1993 season.
The defense turned up the heat with seven sacks and forced a young quarterback into several ill-advised throws, resulting in three interceptions.
Grade: A