San Francisco 49ers: The good, bad, and ugly in week two win over Lions
By Kevin Saito
Good: Breida Erupts
No Jerick McKinnon? No problem. At least, for this week.
When San Francisco lavished that lucrative deal on McKinnon to draw him over from Minnesota, it was clear that he was the 49ers lead back. Which left some doubt about Breida’s role on the team.
Though, as Atlanta’s offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan did a masterful job of using both Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman, so it was generally assumed that he would again use that two-pronged attack out of the backfield.
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When McKinnon went down with a season-ending injury though, Breida was thrust into a more prominent role, and began splitting carries with recently signed Alfred Morris. Against the Vikings, Morris had 12 carries, Breida 11. Against Detroit, Morris had 14 carries, and Breida again, had 11.
After his performance, you might see him starting to get more carries than Morris – though, Shanahan will undoubtedly continue to split the workload.
San Francisco’s battered offensive line did a terrific job of blowing open holes for both Morris and Breida to rumble through. Morris was average, notching 48 yards on his 14 carries – a pedestrian average of 3.4 yards per carry.
Two games into the second season of his NFL career though, Breida erupted, posting his best game as a pro – by far. For the game, Breida went off for 138 yards on just 11 carries – an eye-popping average of 12.5 yards per touch. He scored once – that coming on a 66-yard run late in the third quarter that put San Francisco ahead 27-13 at that point.
Breida had a great game and stepped up when the 49ers needed it most. He could be a very important cog in this offensive machine moving forward.