The Most Dangerous Element of the 49ers' Rushing Attack

The 49ers’ run game, especially when Christian McCaffrey has the ball, is the foundation of their offense. Yet there have been moments throughout this postseason where Kyle Shanahan has inexplicably gotten away from it, particularly when the other team is clicking on offense. Unsurprisingly, the 49ers have struggled to move the ball during those stretches.

Against the Packers in the Divisional Round, while Green Bay was scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter and gaining momentum, the Niners got away from the thing that makes their offense tick. On 16 third-quarter plays, they handed off to McCaffrey just twice, one of which ended up as a 39-yard touchdown run. The other 14 plays (13 called passes) gained a total of 60 yards. That’s just 4.3 yards per play.

Against the Lions in the NFC Championship Game, Detroit started to run away with the game late in the first half. Across the 49ers’ final 2 possessions of the second quarter (not including a QB kneel), they gave McCaffrey just one carry in an 8-play span. San Francisco gained just 12 yards and turned the ball over on an interception during that stretch.

The 49ers were fortunate to escape both games. They can’t go through similar lulls against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, though, especially during those stretches when KC is having success on offense and the Niners need something to slow the game down.

Attacking Kansas City’s defense via the run is probably the best path to success anyway. The Chiefs not only finished 24th in yards per rush allowed, but they also ranked 29th in the percentage of runs allowed that gained 4 or more yards. That implies teams can sustain the run against them if they stick with it.

Not to mention, the 49ers are very efficient and explosive on the ground. They were 4th in yards per attempt this season and led the NFL in runs of 10 yards or more.

As we all know, Shanahan has a well-designed rushing attack predominantly featuring zone runs. The offensive line is effective at executing this scheme, and McCaffrey is the perfect back for his system. He understands how to influence defenders, has great vision and ability to read the defense, and he can make tacklers miss.

The most dangerous element of the 49ers’ run game (which they need to make sure they don’t abandon vs. the Chiefs) is their outside-zone-toss scheme. San Francisco is not only great at executing this core component of their rushing attack, but they can also run it out of many different looks and know how to complement it.

On this first example, the 49ers were in “21” personnel. This was a toss to the left:

At the snap, you can see how the paths to the outside of both McCaffrey and fullback Kyle Juszczyk got Seattle’s 2nd-level defenders flowing fast:

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel would block down on the EMOL, giving McCaffrey a chance to get to the edge:

The next block to focus on was by left tackle Trent Williams. He executed a jump-reach to seal his defender inside: