Grading Charlotte’s latest loss: Niners’ comeback attempt falls short in Memphis

The 49ers simply ran out of time.

In a back-and-forth affair Saturday at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Charlotte’s late-game heroics, engineered by backup quarterback DeShawn Purdie, weren’t enough to take down the Memphis Tigers, falling in heartbreaking fashion in a 33-28 road loss.

Charlotte had its opportunities to earn a signature win under head coach Biff Poggi, but in what would have been the third comeback victory of the season, Seth Henigan and the Tigers pulled out all the stops — including a go-ahead score on a 24-yard dime to Roc Taylor, beating Charlotte corner Elijah Culp to the end zone and crushing the 49ers’ upset hopes with just 31 seconds to play.

With bowl eligibility hopes slipping away, here’s how Charlotte (3-5, 2-2 AAC) graded out in its latest loss.

49ers’ rushing offense

In a game where Charlotte needed to throw the first punch to remain competitive, the 49ers did just that — and the ground game looked back to form early in the action.

On the game’s opening drive, Cartevious Norton got the call and got five touches, bouncing off defenders on the fifth and final run for a 17-yard score. Norton would go on to total 86 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, forcing six missed tackles and generating 50 yards after contact.

Norton would score his second touchdown of the game midway through the fourth quarter, plowing through a pack of Tigers at the goal line to tie the game at 21.

But with a lifeless offense through the second and third quarters, generating just 48 of their 303 total yards — 42 of which came on the ground — it was clear that Charlotte’s offense was stale, and Memphis took advantage.

After fumbling for the first time in his career against Navy, tailback Hahsaun Wilson’s reps were limited against the Tigers, carrying just four times on five snaps. But he delivered in crunch time, scampering 18 yards to put Charlotte ahead by four with 1:20 to play. Poggi stated that Charlotte scored too soon, leaving Henigan and the Tigers plenty of time to dismantle their defense.

And with another seesaw quarterback performance, 113 yards on the ground weren’t enough.

Grade: C

49ers’ passing offense

Despite the fast start, one can only wonder how different Saturday’s game would have played out if Purdie had played all four quarters, rather than playing a role as a reliever following Max Brown’s fourth interception in six quarters of football since returning from injury.

Neither signal caller posted impressive stat lines, with Brown completing just four passes for 38 yards and an interception, and Purdie recording five completions on 13 attempts for 152 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

But the difference in arm talent, field vision, and poise was night and day with Purdie at the helm.

Following Brown’s lone turnover on the day and a lifeless first half, outside of the opening drive, Poggi elected to make the switch. After the half, Purdie took command, but it wasn’t always pretty.

Purdie missed on his first four passes and was sacked on his fifth dropback, continuing the struggles at quarterback and letting what seemed to be a winnable game slip through the cracks. But a fourth-quarter comeback attempt was in line, and Purdie looked for his favorite target, O’Mega Blake, repeatedly, targeting the South Carolina transfer on six of his 13 passes, connecting three times for 128 yards and a touchdown. Returning leaders in catches and yards from a season ago, tight end Colin Weber and wideout Jairus Mack were no-shows in the box score — it was all Blake in the second half.

The Purdie and Blake connection resulted in plays of 39, 32 and 57 yards — all in the fourth quarter alone. And Purdie’s lone turnover came targeting Blake as well, with a tip-drill interception nearly thwarting any hopes of a comeback.

But as they did for 58 minutes and 40 seconds, Charlotte’s defense held up time and time again.

Grade: C

49ers’ rushing defense

Memphis’ rushing attack, led by Mario Anderson Jr., seemed to wear down Charlotte’s front line in the third quarter. Anderson Jr. rushed for 141 yards on 32 carries, forcing 10 missed tackles and bowling for 79 yards after contact. And even with Anderson sidelined briefly in the third quarter, backup tailback Makari Bodiford had his way with Charlotte’s defense, totaling 73 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries.

But Charlotte stuffed the run when it mattered most, stonewalling Anderson and holding for a turnover on downs deep in its own red zone with under five minutes to play in a tie game. And even after Purdie’s lone turnover, Charlotte stood tall.

Following the takeaway, Memphis took over at Charlotte’s 8-yard line in what looked to be the winning score with just three minutes remaining. Anderson saw three straight carries in Charlotte’s low-red, resulting in just 5 total yards and a field goal attempt for the Tigers.

That field goal would kick-start 19 points in the final 1:56 of action, putting all the pressure on Charlotte’s passing defense to close out the victory.

And Henigan needed just 49 seconds to rip it to shreds.

Grade: C+

49ers’ passing defense

In late-game situations, where you know the only thing that can beat you is a touchdown, there’s no better moment for an edge rusher to make a play. But even with the trio of Chantz Williams, Demon Clowney and Dre Butler recording sacks early in the action, Charlotte didn’t have — and doesn’t have — a closer.

Henigan stood in a clean pocket on the Tigers’ winning drive, where he completed five of his six passes and shot down Charlotte’s hopes of a massive road upset.

It wasn’t Henigan’s best performance, completing 20 of his 32 passes for 212 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and that stat line could have been worse — but Charlotte bobbled and dropped the opportunity.

Charlotte’s season-leading tackler, Reid Williford, had multiple opportunities to change the game in Saturday’s loss, but just couldn’t seize them. Trailing 14-7 late in the third quarter, Williford nearly hauled in a tip-drill interception, with Hennigan’s pass ricocheting off corner Dontae Balfour and right through the linebacker’s hands for an incompletion. Just a handful of plays later, Williford missed an open-field tackle on Anderson and Memphis took a two-score advantage to the fourth quarter. Williford posted the lowest defensive grade of 51.4, according to PFF.

The 49ers did see multiple players step up in big moments, with Balfour recording his second interception of the season on the goal line and safety Mordecai McDaniel notching a career-high 12 tackles.

But Charlotte’s linebacker talent is a clear step down from a season ago, and the middle of the field was up for grabs whenever Henigan wanted, with 14 of his 20 completions coming between the numbers. For reference, with linebacker duo Williford and Cam Burden in coverage, Henigan completed all 10 of his passes.

Grade: C-

49ers’ special teams

While Henry Rutledge has been a bright spot on special teams for the better part of two years, his decision to return the kickoff with 31 seconds to play played a major role in Charlotte’s loss.

Trailing by three, Charlotte still had hope with two timeouts and a quarterback with a rocket arm. With kicker Stephen Rusnak connecting on a 54-yarder earlier in the season, Poggi felt good about the 49ers’ chances to force overtime.

And with a touchback resulting in no time off the clock and the ball at the 25-yard line, Charlotte would have ample time to travel just 38 yards to put Rusnak in range. But Rutledge elected to field the kick, dropping his knee to the ground inside Charlotte’s own 5-yard line as he caught the ball and was ruled down — setting Charlotte back on its own goal line with a true freshman quarterback at the helm.

Two plays later, Purdie was sacked in the end zone for a safety and Charlotte’s hopes of a season-changing win were lost.

It was the only swing play on special teams on the game, and it was a costly one.

Grade: C

Overall

This was a game that Charlotte could have and should have won. Whether it was the decision to start Brown, the dropped interception, crucial penalties (nine for 61 yards), the special teams blunder — or just a bad game from Memphis — Charlotte was at the door for the second straight time against the Tigers. It just couldn’t kick it down.

“Memphis knew they were in a game. Their head coach (Ryan Silverfield) came up to me at the end of the game and said, ‘I’m sick and tired of playing you guys,’” said Poggi.

Despite the loss, Charlotte still has four games to play — starting with a nationally televised (ESPN) game on Halloween night against Tulane (6-2, 4-0 AAC). Sitting at three wins, the 49ers will need to win three of their final four to qualify for bowl eligibility for the second time in program history.

It’s a tall task with matchups against the Green Wave, South Florida, Florida Atlantic, and UAB, but with Purdie in the lineup, Charlotte has a chance.

Grade: C