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The 49ers finally found an identity. Now it might be time to find a wrinkle in it.
After three weeks of dominating on the ground and rattling off three consecutive wins, San Francisco’s rushing attack was stifled by a swarming Seattle defense that wasn’t going to let the 49ers be who they want to be offensively.
It was apparent live, but left tackle Trent Williams confirmed after the game that the Seahawks sold out to slow down Elijah Mitchell, who ran for just 66 yards on 22 carries.
“They just crowded the line of scrimmage, crowded the box, and brought the linebackers down pretty quick to draw us off of double teams,” Williams said. “They just wanted to make one on one’s across the line. Obviously, teams are going to play us like that to try to stop the run.”
This is something teams are going to continue doing against the 49ers and Seattle gave a blueprint to San Francisco’s five remaining opponents.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan is very good at scheming mismatches in the run game that allow the blockers to get into the second level and pave the way for chunk plays for Mitchell and other ball carriers. Seattle executed a game plan that forced the 49ers to go elsewhere to find yards.
Ultimately they averaged 6.5 yards per play (a very good number), but two Jimmy Garoppolo interceptions and a sack in the end zone for a safety helped Seattle overcome some of their own shortcomings Sunday.
This is the big question with the 49ers – can they win games without their run game? The answer was ‘no’ this week, and teams are going to continue trying to force them to win in different ways. How Shanahan and the offensive coaching staff adjust to defenses selling out to stop their run game will determine just how far San Francisco can go this year.
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