Did you want the 49ers to start throwing the ball on their final series in regulation? So did Kyle Shanahan—the one who instead elected to do three runs on the San Francisco 49ers’ own 1-yard line.
The 49ers’ 26-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams has some memorable plays. Two notable plays to highlight are the forced fumble and recovery by 49ers defensive lineman Alfred Collins, and then the game-ending fourth-down stonewall stop.
What’s important is what happened between those two plays. Notably, the series that began after the 49ers gained possession from the fumble. While the turnover saved a touchdown, it also put the 49ers one yard outside of their end zone. The 49ers elected to run three straight times and burn the clock, forcing the Rams to use all their timeouts. It also meant a short field for the Rams to tie the game up after the expected 49ers punt.
Some fans were left annoyed that the 49ers didn’t get more aggressive, calling some pass plays to try to avoid overtime altogether.
“It was tough,“ Kyle Shanahan said of the playcalling in his post-game press conference. ”I definitely wanted to throw it and end it.“
The Rams had all three of their timeouts. An incompletion by the 49ers would have stopped the clock, allowing the Rams to take a timeout and pocket one for when they got the ball back. Instead, Shanahan elected to drain those timeouts.
“I really thought if we made them use their timeout,” Shanahan said. “Then, worst-case scenario, we’re playing into overtime.”
Shanahan recalled a few incidents that occurred weeks prior, which led him to his decision—notably, a Week 3 safety against the Arizona Cardinals. Dominick Puni was flagged for holding in the end zone. The miscue gave the Cardinals two points and the ball back.
That nightmare scenario, with a possible timeout to spare, was something Shanahan wanted to avoid. Either for a Rams field goal—or worse.
Shanahan probably also wanted to avoid this scenario from 2021 when Jimmy Garoppolo was quarterbacking for the team:
Shanahan later regretted calling the play, saying he put Garoppolo in a challenging situation.
This probably won’t settle fans who are angered by the conservative play. Regardless, the 49ers were fortunate to be in that situation to begin with, thanks to Alfred Collins’ forced fumble.
With this explanation and strategy, do you think the 49ers should have thrown it? Or was running it the right call?
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