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| San Francisco 49ersrunning back Matt Breida take off against the Detroit Lions in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California on September 16, 2018. The 49ers defeated the Lions 30-27. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI |
By The Sports Xchange
The San Francisco 49ers entered the season with some questions about their ground game after starting running back Jerick McKinnon suffered an ACL injury in practice before the season began. Some of those concerns were allayed in Sunday's 30-27 victory over the Detroit Lions.
Matt Breida took control of the Niners ground game with 138 yards on just 11 carries Sunday, including a career-long 66-yard touchdown dash that extended San Francisco's lead to 27-13. It was Breida's first career 100-yard rushing performance and his 12.5 yards per carry ranks third in franchise history (minimum 10 attempts) for single-game rushing average.
"The way you have days like that is when you get those opportunities and you turn them into home runs," said head coach Kyle Shanahan. "He got that one (66-yarder) in particular. There was a number of other explosives he got. He had some good looks and then he made them into some really good looks with what he did after."
Breida also produced three receptions for 21 yards, while Alfred Morris added 48 yards on 14 carries. The tandem will continue to split time for an offense that needs a solid ground attack to keep defenses off balance and take pressure off the passing game. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was sacked six times by the Lions.
"I thought there was a couple he had a chance to get rid of it," Shanahan told reporters. "You wait on a guy in man coverage and if you wait on them and they don't win or they get tackled, sometimes you've got to get rid of it. You can't just stay and look at him. Or you've got to get off of him early when you see they're not winning."
--LB Reuben Foster will return from suspension and be available for the matchup with the Chiefs Sunday. He should give the defense a much-needed boost. The unit missed far too many tackles against Detroit.
--QB Jimmy Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes against the Lions but he was sacked six times as he pulled the ball down rather than throw picks after he was intercepted three times in the opening loss to Minnesota.
--DL DeForest Buckner has 3 1/2 of the team's five sacks thus far. Since 1982, only two other 49ers have had that many sacks through two games.
--PK Robbie Gould connected on three field goals against Detroit to set the team record with 29 consecutive kicks. He broke Phil Dawson's mark of 27 set in 2013.
--RB Matt Breida's career-long 66-yard touchdown dash was the longest run by a 49er since QB Colin Kaepernick' 90-yard TD run in December 2014.
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