Selfishness doesn’t fly for the 49ers, with countless offensive stars splitting up targets and plenty of other tasks to do when a player isn’t holding the ball.
That selfless attitude was on display during San Francisco’s 42-19 rout of the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, thanks to Christian McCaffrey’s block up the middle on a touchdown pass from quarterback Brock Purdy to receiver Juwan Jennings on fourth down. a fourth.
For those who may have missed it, the 49ers are running back His role collapsed on the play during an interview with NBC Sports’ Peter King after the game.
“We kind of expected the blitz there. We talked a little bit beforehand and said Jauan was the hot receiver if they ended up running a zero-sum offense,” McCaffrey told King from the 49ers’ team plane. [seven rushers, no defenders deep].
“It’s part of playing at full-back. The most important thing is protection and being able to sink your hips and block the full-back in the middle.”
McCaffrey in performing that duty helped Purdy assess the field with a clean pocket despite the blitz and find Jennings for an 18-yard touchdown, giving the 49ers some much-needed insurance in a two-score game with nearly 11 minutes left.
This is nothing new for the Faithful 49ers, who are accustomed to a San Francisco offense stacked up to do what’s asked of them without drawing attention to their own production, whether it’s trucking defenders Brandon Aiyuk down the field or George Kittle putting a pancake block on The length of the attack line.
It’s a big reason why the unit has been so successful – a comprehensive approach with a devastating knack for detail.
“If you don’t take pride in playing off the ball, whether it’s fakes or steals or blocking the ball in space, you’re not going to play here,” McCaffrey told King. “George Kittle is the best.” [tight end] In the league because of what he does in the running game. Then you look at the tape — you’ll see Joan and Deebo [Samuel] And Bachelor’s degree [Aiyuk] Blocked 35 yards down the field. We hold a very high standard for that.”
The famous term “any Sunday” can be used to refer to the 49ers offense as well. Fans never know who will have a big match with the star-studded cast that Purdy has to choose from. And the fact that San Francisco’s players are just as talented — and passionate — with or without the ball in their hands is something McCaffrey doesn’t take for granted.
In fact, it was instilled into the group by coach Kyle Shanahan.
“I think we have a really unselfish team,” McCaffrey told King. “We just know we have a lot of talented players when they have the ball in their hands. It’s very important that we play until the whistle because you never know who is going to play a big role.
“They’ve been coached. They’ve been really coached. They’ve been coached every day: playing off the ball is something we’re all very proud of. That’s a massive standard for Kyle.”
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