Fast Company
Niner Report|November 2019
NFL’s No. 1 ground game has super-charged offense
Craig Massei
Fast Company

The 49ers are getting somewhere fast this season behind the exploits of an unheralded group of running backs that other teams throughout the NFL weren’t even willing to give a chance as they attempted to break into the league earlier this decade.

But a triple-threat combination punch featuring the explosive bursts of Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert and the powerful plunges of Jeff Wilson — all of them undrafted players signed by the 49ers as free agents before their rookie seasons — is showing everybody now.

These guys, obviously, were born to run. They have been on a rushing rampage since the start of this season while energizing San Francisco’s offense and punishing opponents as the 49ers dashed through the middle of October as the only undefeated team in the NFC — joining defending Super Bowl champion New England as one of only two unbeaten teams in the NFL.

And, when season-opening starter Tevin Coleman returned in October after San Francisco’s bye week from a Week 1 ankle injury, it simply pushed San Francisco’s running game over the top. The 49ers entered Week 6 averaging an even 200 yards per game rushing, giving them the NFL’s No. 1-ranked rushing attack to provide vital lifeblood for the league’s No. 4ranked offense.

“They are the best running team in the National Football League right now,” said Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, the NFL’s two-time defending Defensive Player of the Year, whose team couldn’t stop San Francisco in Week 6 as the 49ers improved to 5-0 by beating the Rams 20-7 — with both of San Francisco’s touchdowns coming on the ground.

The 49ers have become the best by hitting opponents from all angles with the diverse talents of the four running backs who have lined up behind three-time Pro Bowl fullback Kyle Juszczyk this season.

This story is from the November 2019 edition of Niner Report.

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This story is from the November 2019 edition of Niner Report.

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