Stats show why 49ers offense is struggling under Kyle Shanahan

49ers statistic No. 3: Rushing offense has been squarely average

Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t going to carry the offense on his shoulders. And in many cases, he’s going to limit what Kyle Shanahan wants to do. For those who doubt this, there’s a key reason why the 49ers gave up a flurry of NFL Draft capital to move up and select Trey Lance at No. 3 overall back in 2021.

However, Garoppolo’s shortcomings have often been covered up by Shanahan’s stout rushing attack, one which carried the team during the 2021 Super Bowl run, especially in the playoffs that season, and was a vital part of the Niners’ success last year, too.

Yet San Francisco’s rushing attack isn’t quite as dominant as it was expected to be.

Through three games, the 49ers are averaging just 4.5 yards per carry, which is right in the middle of the pack and tied for 13th. Now, the Niners do have some volume statistics here, currently ranking sixth for most rush yards (453), and their 101 rushing attempts rank fourth most.

This suggests San Francisco isn’t shying away from running the ball a lot, but the relatively average per-rush attempts point to this means of attack not generating the desired results.

Read More: How much do Niners miss now-Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel?

There are good explanations for why.

The 49ers have already watched two of their highly anticipated contributors on the ground, running backs Elijah Mitchell and rookie Tyrion Davis-Price, suffer notable injuries, which has forced Shanahan to rely heavily on reservists like Jeff Wilson Jr. and Jordan Mason.

However, Shanahan’s X-factor for the ground game, “wide back” Deebo Samuel, isn’t having expected success either, so let’s take a look at him.