This iteration of the 49ers has been around long enough that there aren’t many secrets about how they want to execute a game plan. They have a ton of star power and enough depth that they can win a lot of games by just lining up and doing what they want to do on both sides of the ball.
The Super Bowl offers a unique opportunity to throw a couple of curveballs that haven’t been put on tape often or at all. Even a couple possessions with a team on its heels trying to adjust on the fly could be the difference between a win and a loss.
San Francisco on Sunday will lean on most of what its done to reach the NFL’s biggest stage, but here are a handful of wrinkles they could throw in to get an edge vs. Kansas City:
Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell together
We haven’t seen a ton of the McCaffrey-Mitchell tandem on the field together this year. That could change Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. Both RBs are healthy entering the Super Bowl and the dual-RB tandem gives head coach Kyle Shanahan a ton of flexibility with personnel groupings and formations. Anything that can throw off Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is a plus, and this might be one of the big keys for the 49ers offense Sunday. McCaffrey can line up all over the field and ostensibly work as an extra receiver with Mitchell lined up in the backfield. Add in fullback Kyle Juszczyk who has a ton of formational versatility and suddenly the 49ers have a personnel group that can twist a very good Kansas City defense into knots. It may not come out a lot, but this is something San Francisco can and should lean on more in the Super Bowl.
Isaiah Oliver in the box
Oliver over the second half of the year has seen his playing time plummet after beginning the year as the team’s starting nickel cornerback. It’s unlikely he’ll start there with Deommodore Lenoir moving outside, but Oliver is a chess piece defensive coordinator Steve Wilks can utilize against a Chiefs offense that thrives on short throws. Oliver missed a ton of tackles this year (10 in 503 snaps), but he’s good against the run and a capable enough coverage player to work as an in-the-box safety or linebacker who can step up and defend the run or cover Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The missed tackles will probably keep Oliver from being a major part of the game plan. It wouldn’t be a surprise though if he’s on the field in a couple of key spots.
A Brandon Aiyuk screen
Aiyuk in 2023 caught zero passes behind the line of scrimmage. He had six catches for 39 yards and a touchdown on six targets in 2022, and nine catches for 54 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets in 2021. His rookie year, 2020, was when he shined on screens and passes behind the LOS though. That season he grabbed 14-of-16 targets for 106 yards and a touchdown. Winning in the intermediate and deep areas make Aiyuk a valuable player in the 49ers’ passing game, but the Chiefs’ secondary is too good to rely on Brock Purdy getting Aiyuk the ball. They have to manufacture ways to get the ball in the hands of their fourth-year WR. A screen or two, and perhaps a couple of pop passes on jet motion would allow Aiyuk’s playmaking ability to be a factor without needing to air it out to him.
Arik Armstead on the edge
The 49ers may need to turn to something that worked for them on the defensive line in 2019. Armstead has played defensive tackle almost exclusively over the last three seasons. In 2019 he was extremely effective on the edge as a run stopper though and he’s probably their best edge setter. The Chiefs mercilessly attacked the 49ers’ edges in their 2022 matchup and San Francisco never had an answer. Moving him outside would put some added strain on the 49ers’ thin defensive tackle group, but that’s a risk they may need to take to shore up their run defense against an offense that obliterated them on the ground a year ago.
