Offense
OFFENSIVE LINE
John Tait and Ruben Brown dominated the 49ers’ right side early. Olin Kreutz’s seal block keyed Adrian Peterson’s 34-yard run, and John St. Clair was superb at right tackle against Bryant Young.
GRADE: A-
RECEIVERS
Wind took the receivers out of the offense as Justin Gage, Muhsin Muhammad and Bobby Wade caught just one each. Desmond Clark caught two passes, one a 31- yarder to set up a field-goal try.
GRADE: C-
QUARTERBACK
Kyle Orton had limited options with the wind swirling but wasted a scoring opportunity with an end-zone interception on a poor throw. He completed 8 of 13 and avoided sacks.
GRADE: C-
RUNNING BACKS
Adrian Peterson rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown as the sole tailback available. Cedric Benson’s knee injury was a damaging loss. Bryan Johnson was a force on a day that demanded run blocking.
GRADE: A-
Defense
SECONDARY
Charles Tillman and Chris Harris were split for a 28- yard completion, but Harris had a team-high seven tackles and Mike Brown’s interception set up a scoring chance.
GRADE: B-
LINEBACKERS
Lance Briggs, Hunter Hillenmeyer and Brian Urlacher each had six tackles and were pressed to provide run support.
GRADE: C+
DEFENSIVE LINE
Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye were credited with six tackles each. Tank Johnson deflected a pass that resulted in an interception.
GRADE: C+
SPECIAL TEAMS
Nathan Vasher’s 108-yard return of a missed field goal changed the game. But Bobby Wade muffed three punts. Wind affected snaps on two field-goal attempts.
GRADE: C
COACHING
Setting up for a possible return on the missed field goal was crucial. The offense had to adjust dramatically to injuries at running back, and the wind made passing impossible.
GRADE: A-
