The San Francisco 49ers may have lost to the Detroit Lions in Week 17 on Monday Night Football, but one good thing came from the game. Niners head coach and offensive play-caller Kyle Shanahan clearly got his mojo back, which is a positive development.
When things are going well for San Francisco, Shanahan is called an offensive genius and lauded as one of the brightest minds in the game. Yet when things are going poorly, the eight-year head coach is seen as indecisive and too cute by half, often getting in his own way.
There is some truth to both of these characterizations and with how poorly 2024 has gone for San Francisco, it does not take a genius to figure out what the narrative has been surrounding Shanahan this season.
While the more-crazed fans calling for Shanahan to be ousted were always ludicrous, those who criticized Shanahan's play calling had a point. It seemed like Shanahan got too pass-happy at times this season. He was calling plays where quarterback Brock Purdy was dropping back to pass rather than leaning upon the run game and calling play-action passes off of that, which was the bread and butter for San Francisco's offense ever since Shanahan took over as head coach.
Perhaps the fact the Niners were without star players like running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk for much of the year made it difficult for Shanahan to adjust. He may have gotten so spoiled last season with all of the team's weapons that he struggled to revert to a more simplified offense.
In Week 18 against Detroit, though, Shanahan found a healthier balance on offense.
While the 49ers did lean heavily on the passing game, they ran the ball effectively enough to produce some solid plays on the play-action pass.
49ers beat writer David Lombardi noted that San Francisco was very pass-heavy in the game, and it garnered great results in the first half where the Niners scored a touchdown on every possession except at the end of the half when kicker Jake Moody missed a field-goal attempt.
I've actually never seen a Shanahan 49ers offensive performance this productive being this unbalanced.
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) December 31, 2024
Even the 48-46 2019 win over New Orleans saw 35 passes and 24 runs. This one is at 34 passes and 17 runs now (and will get more skewed).
Very out of character for Shanahan,…
Really, the only thing that stopped Shanahan's offensive clinic was missed field goals or interceptions. The offense put up 34 points against a depleted Detroit defense, but even though the opponent was not impressive, this was an important game for Shanahan to get some confidence back after a rough season.
It may be a meaningless game at the end of a bad year, but this impressive offensive performance could help Shanahan turn things around next season.