The 49ers have a penchant for blowing big leads. They’re 44-13 under head coach Kyle Shanahan when leading by 10-plus points. Those 13 losses are the second-most by any team in that stretch, trailing only the Colts who have 14 such losses per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. They’ve appeared to be solving that issue over the last half of the 2022 season.
Since losing in Week 7 to the Chiefs 44-23 in a game where they led 10-0, San Francisco has had 10-point leads in nine games and lost none of them.
Part of this is because of how immensely talented the 49ers are, but one play in the fourth quarter of their wild card win over the Seahawks helped highlight why they’re putting games away more consistently than they ever have under Shanahan.
With 11:04 left in the fourth quarter, the 49ers had a second-and-8 at their own 26, holding onto a 14-point lead. That’s a spot where, in the past, Shanahan might’ve gone conservative and tried running the ball to keep the clock moving. Instead, he put the ball in the hands of quarterback Brock Purdy.
Purdy faked a toss to the right, then rolled left and fired a strike to wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Samuel went to work after the catch and turned in a 74-yard touchdown that put the game away. San Francisco led 38-17 with 10:51 left and Seattle’s hope of mounting a comeback was effectively dashed.
THERE GOES DEEBO 💨 @19problemz
📺 #SEAvsSF on FOX
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/yumOPhJ5mi— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 15, 2023
Shanahan started making aggressive play calls with big leads in Week 8 when the 49ers thumped the Rams at SoFi Stadium. He continued it on Monday Night Football against the Rams in Mexico City. Then it didn’t change when Purdy took over.
The aggressiveness has paid dividends and the 49ers’ penchant for blowing double-digit leads has subsided just in the nick of time. They stayed aggressive with a rookie QB in the playoffs and it helped them slam the door on a Seattle team that was having some offensive success.
Getting leads is something the 49ers have been good at throughout Shanahan’s tenure as head coach, and now it looks like they’ve solved the problem of holding onto them just in time for a playoff run.
