The San Francisco 49ers will face a steep uphill battle Sunday when they face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Injuries will leave quarterback Brock Purdy on the sideline with veteran signal caller Brandon Allen slated to start in his stead. While Allen’s start will make an already tough game more difficult for the 49ers, it could facilitate some offensive innovation from a group that was starting to get stagnant on that side of the ball.
San Francisco is coming off a loss to the Seattle Seahawks where they posted only 17 points, averaged 4.9 yards per play and churned out only three designed explosive plays.
Now they’ll start Allen in a pivotal road game. It’ll be his first start since Week 18 of the 2021 season and the 10th start of his career. He’s 2-7 as a starter with a 56.5 percent completion rate, 6.2 yards per attempt, nine touchdowns and six interceptions.
His job Sunday should come down to converting third downs and avoiding turnovers, which may push head coach Kyle Shanahan to try some things he hasn’t been doing with Purdy under center.
In Green Bay we could see the 49ers lean more heavily on their run game, and in particular utilize sets where running back Jordan Mason is on the field with RB Christian McCaffrey. Those two haven’t been on the field together this season with McCaffrey dominating the snap count.
That’s the other shift we may see. More run-focused offense could require more from Mason who posted 13 yards on his only two carries against the Seattle Seahawks. The 2022 undrafted RB proved himself to be a viable offensive weapon while McCaffrey was out, and the 49ers have all but abandoned him since the reigning Offensive Player of the Year returned.
McCaffrey is certainly a better all-around player than Mason, but Mason averaged better than 5.0 yards per carry as the 49ers’ starter and he’d be extremely useful in a situation where San Francisco needs to lean on its rushing attack.
Aside from the run game, Allen’s presence may also facilitate a return toward something close to normalcy in the passing attack. Allen isn’t as mobile as Purdy, so he may be more apt to hit some of the throws Purdy has turned down this year. Not that the 49ers will want him dropping back 40 times, but Allen should be capable of connecting on the easy throws Shanahan figures to dial up.
If the 49ers can get back to their roots as a creative, relentless running team who gets the passing game going out of play action, we may see them not only stay afloat with Allen under center, but we could see them flip an offensive switch that gets them back on track in time to make a late playoff push.
