There was progress made by the 49ers in the run game in last Sunday’s defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, even if it might not have been immediately obvious.
San Francisco finally scored a rushing touchdown
on Christian McCaffrey’s one-yard plunge in the second quarter and, while the 49ers managed only 67 rushing yards, it marked arguably their best performance on the ground of the campaign.
The 49ers had a success rate of 40.91% running the ball against Tampa, their second-best mark of the season behind a success rate of 46.15% against the Saints.
However, in terms of EPA per rush, the Week 6 effort was San Francisco’s best of the season, per Sumer Sports.
Yet McCaffrey had only one rush of over 10 yards, speaking to the 49ers’ continued struggles producing explosive running plays.
Their hopes of doing so are set to boosted this week with the imminent return of George Kittle from a hamstring injury.
The expectation is that Kittle’s comeback will drastically improve the blocking play at the tight end position.
But, as Kittle articulated when speaking to reporters on Thursday, it isn’t solely the play at tight end in his absence that has contributed to the 49ers’ uncharacteristically poor run game.
Asked for the reasons behind the 49ers’ issues on the ground, Kittle replied:
“I would say a couple things. I think the D-lines and the defensive coordinators we’ve been facing are pretty good,” Kittle told reporters after practice Thursday. “Like, I think Seattle has an incredible D-line. I think a lot of team’s we’re playing have better D-lines than I think preseason schedules told people. I still think that we’re trying to find our rhythm again. Whether it’s, new tight ends are playing with offensive tackles they haven’t played with before, we have a young guy on the inside, some miscommunication stuff. It’s an overall group thing. Some plays there are some guys that are messing up, other plays there are other guys that are messing up, sometimes they just have a better play called than we do. So overall, it’s everybody. Offensive line, running backs, fullbacks, tight ends, wide receivers, coaching calling plays.”
It is a spot-on assessment of the 49ers’ run game to this point.
The 49ers have faced some fearsome defensive lines, and a matchup with a defensive tackle as uniquely talented as Vita Vea, whom San Francisco struggled to contain, is not an easy one for any offensive linemen.
Yet the 11-yard rush McCaffrey had in the third quarter might have turned into a touchdown had Colton McKivitz produced a better block at the second level. At the same time, there have also been no shortage of plays where the defensive end’s ease at setting the edge against a tight end has significantly compromised runs to the outside.
In short, there is no silver bullet that will automatically fix the 49ers’ issues on the ground, but Kittle’s return might be the closest thing to it. He was the best all-round tight end in the game again last season and can have a substantial impact on the run game not just with his ability to block defensive ends, but also through his threat as a receiver and the respect that makes opponents pay to the passing game from heavier personnel looks.
Kittle is not a cure-all, but he can help alleviate some of the problems that have ailed the run game.
Indeed, as Kyle Shanahan put it on Wednesday: “Just having another good blocker always helps. Just having him back in the pass game, I think is huge. Just having an explosive athlete out there who can run away from people. Just having him on the field on every offense play helps.”
Ahead of a critical NFC primetime clash, that help could hardly be more perfectly timed.