The 49ers dominated the Vikings for most of the game, but especially in the 4th quarter in last weekend’s divisional round matchup.
The offense leaned on Tevin Coleman to run the ball down the middle of the Vikings defense and milk the clock. George Kittle played a special role in particular as his zone/down blocking is crucial to what the 49ers do on the ground.
The plays that I broke down here are 8 straight run plays from the San Francisco 49ers that iced the game after the 49ers went up 24-10.
The interception from Kirk Cousins to Richard Sherman that set the drive up. Sherman read the throw beautifully and jumped the route. The 49ers start the drive with a simple zone run to the right. The play does not get much, but nonetheless a good play to establish the mindset for the drive. Coleman finds a crease and picks up 6 yards. The 49ers run the same play but to the other side of the field. First down. Mostert finds a crease up the middle and picks up a few. Impressive job by the left side of the 49ers offensive line here. If not for Eric Wilson (50) this play could have broken big. Look at this hole that the 49ers offensive line creates. Not much of a gain but a sign of domination nonetheless. Anthony Harris (41) is forced to move to the middle of the field after George Kittle (85) makes a pre-snap move. This allows the 49ers to run a power run to the right and pick up a few. The 49ers again go with the power run scheme but nothing to show for it. Coleman is one of the best running backs in the league that can find space with a lot of nothing in front of him. It allows the 49ers to run out of all different kinds of formations, including shotgun. The two RB shotgun set is a favorite of Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers go with the same run play back to back (again) and run for a TD to cap an 8 play drive. Tevin Coleman is a rock in the 49ers zone-run scheme.
I’m extremely intrigued to see how the 49ers and Tevin Coleman can rush the ball against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in the NFC Championship.
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