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49ers OC on run game: ‘We’re doing a good job in the run game’

The San Francisco 49ers are taking on the Arizona Cardinals this weekend, getting another divisional test early in the year after beating the Seattle Seahawks 17-13 in the season opener.

San Francisco has started the year 2-0, beating the Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints in close games on the road. In both games, they’ve had clutch offensive and defensive plays, but one aspect that hasn’t really gotten going is the run game.

The 49ers have averaged just 3.2 yards per carry over the first two games, with both Christian McCaffrey and Brian Robinson Jr. averaging 3.5 yards per attempt. San Francisco has been fairly consistent in the run game, but they have not been able to create any explosives.

So far, their longest rush has been 13 yards. Have they been executing as they’ve wanted to so far?

“I think the numbers aren’t crazy. They’re not going to wow you,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak acknowledged this week. “But when you really watch it on tape, I think we’re doing a good job in the run game. We’re running the ball efficiently. We’re doing what we kind of want to do. And then there’s been some opportunities where we’re a hair off for one reason or the other.

“Whether it’s one block we don’t finish or just a back making a guy miss or making a cut differently. But we’re close. But, I’ve been happy with our run game and we haven’t had negative runs. We’ve had efficient runs, which is good. And if we keep doing that, and we need to keep doing that, I think it’s a matter of time before we do pop some and we get some of those explosives, but we’ve been good. We’ve got to keep getting better though.”

The 49ers haven’t gotten those negative plays, but the explosives are a must.

One big issue has been running the ball in the red zone. San Francisco has been one of the more active rushing teams inside the 20-yard line, but they’ve failed to muster any success. Christian McCaffrey is currently fourth in the NFL in red zone rushing attempts with nine, but he’s only gotten five total yards on those carries.

Two years ago, when they were the best red zone team in the NFL, McCaffrey averaged 3.1 yards per carry in the red zone, while easily leading the league in touches. That number bumped to a respectable 4.3 yards per carry between the opponent’s 10 and 20-yard line.

San Francisco’s passing attack has had the answers when needed so far. But that rushing attack will need to grow and start generating for more explosives for the 49ers to be a more balanced team.