Hopefully it’s more than two carries.
The San Francisco 49ers may have to rely on the ground game this Sunday.
The 49ers’ issues worsen as they prepare to travel to face the Green Bay Packers. Quarterback Brock Purdy has been declared out, and backup Brandon Allen will manage the huddle on Sunday. Snow was reported in Green Bay on Thursday, and while the forecast for Sunday doesn’t seem as nasty, this is Green Bay.
It could be a ground-and-pound game for the 49ers, who may want to focus on the running game rather than have Allen throw 40 times in the cold winds.
This means Christian McCaffrey, who is completely off the injury report, will get a healthy dose of carries. And maybe Jordan Mason can get involved, too?
Maybe, because Mason had a grand total of two carries against the Seattle Seahawks last week. A running back filling in for McCaffrey, who averaged 5.4 yards a carry before getting hit with the injury bug against the Dallas Cowboys, was all but left out of things.
Mason has shown that he cannot only helm the running back position but also comes with a skill set slightly different from McCaffrey’s. The 49ers never really took advantage of that, unfortunately. Once McCaffrey was cleared to go, Kyle Shanahan went to him as old faithful repeatedly for the running game.
They will need to get Mason going this weekend. We’ve already discussed how the 49ers should utilize McCaffrey. No one here is arguing that McCaffrey should get the lion’s share of snaps, but only giving Jordan Mason two carries is not what I had in mind.
McCaffrey had 19 carries against the Seattle Seahawks last week. One has to wonder how much more fresh he could have been had that been reduced to 13 or 14 carries, with Mason getting those other five or six.
Furthermore, with Purdy being out, along with Nick Bosa, there’s that elephant in the room: The 49ers need to start considering the health of their team for 2025. It’s a Catch-22 because a win would keep playoff hopes alive. And this is pretty much their last chance before they would start circling the drain.
But that said, one has to look at the situation in front of them and start considering reality: this is a must-win game, and their starting quarterback, along with their best pass rusher, on a line that struggles pass rushing, are unavailable. That’s not inspiring optimism.
The last thing anyone would want is a McCaffrey injury from overuse, and he’s on the shelf to start next season. It’s a Catch-22 because this is the 49ers’ last chance to do anything to control their destiny in the postseason, so they’ll want to come out with their hair on fire anyway. The correct answer is obviously to play to win, but the risk of how they win this is something we should consider.
Win or lose, two carries for Mason isn’t enough. This game screams to utilize Mason, a player I’ve seen some compare to Marshawn Lynch. If anyone remembers games around this time in Green Bay, catching the ball is very difficult, so that should mean a lot of run plays. Plays Mason should thrive in.
Hopefully, Mason will get more than another pair of carries. How would you like him utilized this weekend?