49ers report card: Good grade for the D; offense deserves a dunce cap

Offense: Colin Kaepernick and his coaches still seem to be recovering from his awful outing in Arizona. Until the end, the play calls were conservative and Kaepernick hardly made any attempts downfield. If not for a 40-yard gain on a 10-inch shovel pass, Kaepernick would have had 38 passing yards and 43 rushing yards in the first half. Grade: D-

Defense: The 49ers take a page from previous coordinator Vic Fangio’s playbook and don’t throw many blitzes at Aaron Rodgers, who had trouble extending drives early on. Still, the 49ers fail to stuff the run – including scampers by Rodgers – at key moments and the Packers gain a lot of yards after initial contact. Grade: B+

Special teams: Rookie punter Bradley Pinion hasn’t been as good as the veteran he replaced, Andy Lee. The return game provides no sparks, and for the second week narrowly avoids losing a fumble. The highlight of the day for the unit: a 33-yard Phil Dawson field goal. Grade: C-

Overall: The 49ers’ offensive game plan is built around a defense that holds opponents out of the end zone. Ahmad Brooks, NaVorro Bowman and Co. do their part but the offense, especially Kaepernick, still looks as if it is in early-preseason form. For the second straight game, there’s visible frustration from key veterans. Grade: C-

Matt Barrows

This story was originally published October 4, 2015 at 4:10 PM.