SF 49ers: 5 items on Kyle Shanahan’s to-do list during bye week
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: Kyle Shanahan must get SF 49ers’ run game going again
For whatever the reasons — play-calling, a banged-up running back room or an inefficient offensive line — the Niners’ once-vaunted rushing attack has looked like a shell of itself the last three weeks.
During the three-game losing streak, San Francisco’s offense has generated the following:
| Scor | Scor | Offe | Offe | Offe | Offe | Offe | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | OT | Rec | Opp | Tm | Opp | 1stD | TotYd | PassY | RushY | TO | ||
| 8 | L | 4-4 | @ | Seattle Seahawks | 27 | 37 | 24 | 351 | 299 | 52 | 2 | |
| 9 | L | 4-5 | Green Bay Packers | 17 | 34 | 17 | 337 | 282 | 55 | 2 | ||
| 10 | L | 4-6 | @ | New Orleans Saints | 13 | 27 | 21 | 281 | 232 | 49 | 4 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com
Generated 11/19/2020.
During that stretch, the SF 49ers have managed a mere 156 rush yards and have averaged a mere 2.4 yards per attempt.
That’s bad.
Being without Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman and Jeff Wilson has hurt, essentially leaving Jerick McKinnon as the team’s only viable option at running back. McKinnon’s lack of burst, particularly in Week 10, has hurt the numbers.
Mostert, Coleman and Wilson all potentially returning in Week 12 should help matters a lot. But Shanahan’s to-do list needs to involve scheme and play-calling, too.
Instead of establishing the run to set up the pass, Shanahan needs to swap the approach and go with a pass-first mentality, bringing us to the next point.