David Gonzales-Imagn Images
Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
Make no mistake: tight end
George Kittle values having running back
Christian McCaffrey, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, on the field. Unfortunately, the San Francisco 49ers didn't have that luxury on Monday night against the New York Jets.
Despite McCaffrey's absence, the 49ers thrived.
Jordan Mason stepped up, delivering a standout performance with 147 rushing yards and a touchdown, averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
When asked about the differences between McCaffrey and Mason, Kittle explained how the 49ers actually benefited from McCaffrey's absence.
"Like I told Christian, literally the only good thing that came out of him not playing is that our playbook shrinks just a little bit, which I'm always a fan of, the shrinking playbook," Kittle said after the
32-19 Week 1 victory. "Now, [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] can make all these awesome plays, and the cool thing about Christian is you can do all these things that no one else in the world can do.
"But we really just ran the most simple outside zone all day, whether it's a weak side run at [LT]
Trent [Williams] or [RT]
Colton [McKivitz], or you had two tight ends in there, and just running outside zone. And it worked really, really well, and I was happy for that."
Another advantage is learning that the 49ers can rest McCaffrey without stalling the offense. Mason's performance, which
didn't surprise anyone in the 49ers' locker room, allows McCaffrey to conserve his energy for the long season ahead and take breaks as needed.
"And what JP (Mason) also does, he's just such a downhill runner, and he's a dense dude," Kittle continued. "Sturdy—that would be a good word for it. A dense, sturdy guy, and he just runs downhill very physically."
Related News
Before he was a two-time Super Bowl winner with the Denver Broncos, former NFL wide receiver, Ed McCaffrey, was a Super Bowl champion with the 1994 San Francisco 49ers. McCaffrey put together a very good NFL career in which he played with a couple of Hall of Fame...
Brock Purdy will reunite with his former backup, Sam Darnold, on Sunday as the Minnesota Vikings host the San Francisco 49ers. Darnold spent just one season with the 49ers before signing with the Vikings in free agency this year. With the Niners, he served as an insurance...
Week 2 of the 2024 season was one to forget for the San Francisco 49ers, who committed a long list of mistakes on offense, defense and special teams during a 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Following the game, 49ers head coach Kyle...
The San Francisco 49ers came out of their Week 1 victory over the New York Jets without any significant injuries. During a Tuesday morning conference call, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that the only injuries were the ones mentioned in his post-game press...