A bye week that will serve as an identity check for the 49ers included a ballyhooed deal for edge rusher Chase Young to join a defensive line already crowded with big names, big salaries and big expectations.
Young’s biggest asset is his pass rushing ability, and the 49ers are looking for some juice when they line up against Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville when they resume play on Nov. 12.
Maybe Young can provide that, freeing up Nick Bosa to do more damage at closing time with sacks rather than simply putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks for an average salary of $33 million.
Yet the issue that has hampered the 49ers the most over their three-game free fall to 5-3 has been more basic and primal. Coach Kyle Shanahan believes in landing the first punch, and in a football sense, the left jab lies in the running game on both sides of the ball.
If the 49ers can’t approach what they’ve been in those areas earlier this season as well as the previous two years, the blame will fall on quarterback Brock Purdy and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. The 23-year-old quarterback and the 54-year-old assistant, however, would be sidelights to what amounts to a personality disorder created at the point of attack.
Remember last season’s cool stat which found every regular-season opponent losing the week after they played the 49ers? Maybe it was a fluke, but more likely it had at least something to do with being the tougher team on both sides of the ball — an identity forged in running the ball and stopping the run.
For what it’s worth, this year’s foes are 4-3 after playing the 49ers.
We take you back to the first series against Cincinnati. Christian McCaffrey gains eight yards on first down and a single yard on second down, bringing up third-and-1. Kyle Juszczyk is stuffed for a yard loss and the 49ers punt.
Not the end of the world, but it was the first three-and-out on an opening series this season after scoring six touchdowns and a field goal and losing a fumble at the opponent’s 12-yard line.
The Bengals got Joe Mixon loose on their first drive for 20 yards to the 49ers’ 11-yard line and on their second possession gained 13 yards to the 2.
By game’s end, Mixon had 87 yards on 16 carries and Cincinnati had 134 on 27 attempts.
During the three-game losing streak, the 49ers have 286 yards rushing, an average of 95.3 yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry. As opposed to the first five games, when they gained 782 yards on 173 carries, averaging 150.4 per game and 4.5 per carry.
McCaffrey still leads the NFL with 652 yards rushing, but has found the going tougher since the 40-12 win over Dallas. He went into that game with 459 yards and a 5.7 average per carry, and has 153 yards total and a 2.7 average per rush in the last four.
A solid running attack that was rooted in outside zone runs has branched out with more gap and power runs and the 49ers have hurt themselves with penalties and getting behind the sticks.
“I know that ever since I’ve been a 49er, outside zone has been our No. 1 thing — we’ve put ourselves in some bad positions,” tight end George Kittle said. “It’s hard to run the ball when it’s first-and-20, second-and-15. When we have to rely on the pass we become too one-dimensional and one of the best things we do is run the football we’ve put ourselves in situations where we can’t.”
Shanahan so far has been reluctant to take McCaffrey off the field — twice he has played every snap in the game — while Elijah Mitchell cools his heels and Deebo Samuel is currently not an option with a hairline shoulder fracture.
Losing Trent Williams, a Hall of Fame-caliber left tackle, has made an impact. He has missed the last two losses and played against Cleveland and premiere end Myles Garrett on one leg after an early ankle sprain. The hope is Williams returns following the bye.
Williams can’t do it alone, however, and left guard Aaron Banks is sidelined with turf toe, for which he’ll miss at least one game and maybe more. In the Cincinnati and Cleveland losses, defensive tackles D.J. Reader of the Bengals and Dalvin Tomlinson of the Browns had their way with the 49ers’ interior line, which includes center Jake Brendel and right guard Spencer Burford.
Shanahan, who loves what a high total of rushing attempts represents in terms physicality, said even without Williams there were missed opportunities against the Bengals.
“We haven’t been able to create as much space in the run game, and I got away from it a little bit there in the second half,” Shanahan said.
The 49ers have not allowed a 100-yard rusher since Kansas City’s Damien Williams in the Super Bowl following the 2019 season, but have given up 368 yards (122.7 yards per game) after giving up 321 and 3.7 in five wins.
Cleveland, playing with P.J. Walker at quarterback, gashed the 49ers for 14- and 22-yard runs by Jerome Ford on the drive for the game-winning field goal. Before the Bengals and Mixon got loose, Minnesota picked up some yards early (34 yards on six carries) from Alexander Mattison that gave Kirk Cousins more of a comfort zone.
The 49ers made a great deal for Young in exchange for a third-round draft pick, but he’s not going to be a pivotal figure in their run defense. Quarterbacks aren’t going to fall unless the 49ers stuff the run first.
“Something I grew up with in the NFL is you’ve got to earn the right to rush the passer and you do that by playing the run well,” general manager John Lynch said. “We’ve not been good enough there. We’ve got to do that and then we’ve got ample ability and options as pass rushers to start to pull this together.”