The San Francisco 49ers finally got the run game going in a 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons over the weekend.
Christian McCaffrey had his best day on the ground, going for 129 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, which equates to 5.4 yards per carry. All of those figures were season highs. He still had his work as a receiver, catching seven passes for 72 yards in a volume-heavy day.
It had taken a while for the 49ers to get the run game going, as McCaffrey entered Sunday averaging just 3.1 yards per carry, despite having a similar high-volume role. He hadn’t topped 70 rushing yards in a game and instead was seeing his impact really come out in the receiving game.
On Sunday, it was both, leading him to earn the NFC’s Player of the Week Award. What led to the breakthrough against the Falcons?
“A lot of things. It’s not just one thing,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I thought we blocked a little bit better, I thought we ran a little bit better, I thought we called some better looks. I thought we were really good on third down, which kept us out on the field. I thought our defense really slowed them down, even in the second half when they went down and scored seven and I could feel them getting some momentum and the offense needed to answer and they went three-and-out, which really worried me because I could feel their momentum.
“But, then they ended up going three-and-out right away which allowed us kind of to still control the game and keep it the same way. So, a lot of factors went into that. To me how the lack of them threatening to score in the second half that much and our consistency in running it and our consistency in passing it. I thought we threw the ball well especially on third down which kept us out on the field and allowed us to keep getting those runs.”
Being able to control the pace of the game certainly helped the 49ers run the ball efficiently. But, that success started instantly, as the 49ers ran the ball four times for 27 yards on their first drive (a punt in Atlanta territory) and went from there.
One clear boost was the return of George Kittle. The 49ers tight ends had been struggling with blocking in the run game prior to having Kittle. But, with the star back, there was a big boost with the run blocking, both from Kittle and from free agent signee Luke Farrell.
McCaffrey also looked the best he has all season with his juice, showing that it isn’t all gone, despite the several injuries over the last few years. While his longest run was still only 15 yards in this game, there were several that broke for five or more yards, keeping the 49ers in favorable second and third-down situations.
With Kyle Shanahan, there’s an expectation to run the ball at a high level. When that wasn’t there over the first five weeks, it was clear the team wasn’t happy with those results.
“Yeah, I think we all were [unhappy with the results of the run game before],” Shanahan said. “I don’t know if it’s all the talk. I don’t know what he listens to or not. I know Christian has a high standard, what he expects to do running the ball. I do personally, I know our whole team does.
“So, not getting the production that we would like these first five weeks, I think, had us all pissed off. I’m not saying we were pissed off, that’s why we did it well in Week 6. We try our hardest every week. But yeah, when we’re not running the ball well, no one’s happy around here, especially Christian.”
Now, the 49ers will take on the Houston Texans, who rank 10th in the NFL, allowing 95.2 rushing yards per game. We’ll see if San Francisco can carry its momentum on the road for another good showing in the run game.
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