After the teams traded early field goals, the 49ers took control, moving ahead on the strength of two rushing touchdowns by RB Tim Hightower and QB C.J. Beathard, and they added a punt return touchdown by WR Victor Bolden Jr.
In the second half, the Chargers would score a LB Kyle Coleman interception return for a touchdown, but the 49ers would go on to win 23-13. With that, we give you our PFF exclusive takeaways from the contest for each team.
Top 5 grades
CB Will Davis, 83.9 overall grade
LB Austin Calitro, 81.9 overall grade
DI Leger Douzable, 81.2 overall grade
CB Asa Jackson, 80.6 overall grade
G Andrew Gardner, 79.6 overall grade
Performances of Note:
QB C.J. Beathard, 70.2 overall grade
C.J. Beathard only threw 9 passes against the Chargers, with one dropped and one batted, and none of his 5 completions were targeted beyond 9 yards downfield. Beathard did rack up a very impressive 80 yards rushing on 3 carries, including a 62-yard touchdown scamper where he forced a missed tackle in the secondary.
T Darrell Williams Jr., 78.7 overall grade
Williams played 32 total snaps for the night. He didn’t allow a single pressure on his 12 pass blocking snaps. Williams did his best work in the run game and earned a game-high 84.7 run blocking grade.
CB Asa Jackson, 80.6 overall grade
Jackson had a strong showing against the Chargers, as he was targeted 7 times but only allowed 4 catches for 57 yards. Jackson impressively intercepted 2 passes and the passer rating when throwing into his coverage was 44.0.
LB Dekoda Watson, 77.4 overall grade
Watson picked up 2 run stops and a 71.9 run defense grade. Watson was even more effective rushing the passer as he picked up 1 sack and 2 hurries on only 12 pass-rushing snaps to earn a game-high 81.2 pass-rush grade.
Top 5 grades
HB Austin Ekeler, 84.9 overall grade
LB Nick Dzubnar, 83.8 overall grade
S Adrian Phillips, 80.3 overall grade
DI Darius Philon, 80.2 overall grade
QB Cardale Jones, 79.9 overall grade
Performances of Note:
HB Austin Ekeler, 84.9 overall grade
Ekeler carried the ball only 8 times but added 7 yards after contact and forced two missed tackles. Ekeler also caught 3 of his 5 targets adding an impressive 60 yards after the catch. The passer rating when targeting Ekeler was 100.4.
QB Cardale Jones, 79.9 overall grade
Jones completed 2 of his 3 passes targeted to the intermediate area (10-19 yards downfield). Jones also completed 6 of 8 passes where he was pressured. Jones also rushed for 26 yards on 3 carries with 14 yards coming after contact and he forced one missed tackle with a nasty stiff-arm.
LB Nick Dzubnar, 83.8 overall grade
Dzubnar saw three passes come into his coverage area he allowed only only to be caught for -5 yards and he broke up another pass. The passer rating when throwing into Dzubnar’s coverage was a lowly 42.4. He also added a run stop.
DI Darius Philon, 80.2 overall grade
Philon played only 26 snaps against the 49ers but made them count as he graded positively as a run-defender and picked up 2 run stops. Philon also added one hurry on his 17 pass-rush snaps.
PFF Game Ball:
*Grades subject to change pending review
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