More 49ers: Coleman shines as unlikely hero; Jimmy G does just enough and that.
SANTA CLARA >> That the 49ers would roll out a relentless run game in the NFC Divisional round playoff game was no surprise. That Tevin Coleman would be the star of this scheme is the kicker.
Coleman rushed for two touchdowns in the 49ers’ 2710 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday at Levi’s Stadium, rounding out a dominant offensive and defensive effort that will push the No. 1 seed to the NFC Championship game against either the Seattle Seahawks or Green Bay Packers.
The 49ers running back rushed for more than 100 yards for the first time since their rout of the Carolina Panthers in Week 8. On Saturday Coleman scampered across 105 yards, averaging 4.8 yards per carry on 22 attempts.
Coleman? The offense’s dynamism is only enhanced by its three-headed monster at the running back position, but Coleman’s number certainly hasn’t been called much of late.
“I know his numbers haven’t been as great, Raheem’s (Mostert) had some good runs,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I think Tevin’s had some unfortunate looks, just the luck of the draw a little bit. I think he got some better looks today and took advantage of them.”
Shanahan hinted to media leading up to this playoff game that Coleman might be on deck for more carries, touting his physicality on short drives and underrated ability to hit holes. That potential was hidden by his lack of use.
Coleman was the primary back for a good chunk of the year, but it’s been a while. From weeks 6 through 12, he rushed 328 yards on 3.53 yards per attempt with 5 rushing touchdowns, participating in around half the snaps in most of those games. But in Week 13’s loss to the Ravens, Mostert slowly began to take on Coleman’s snap counts. He rushed for six touchdowns on 379 yards and averaged 5.92 yards per carry and a receiving touchdown.
But the Coleman of old showed his face again on Saturday.
His performance sat in stark contrast with the expectation. All eyes were on Vikings running back Dalvin Cook to make a splash and challenge the 49ers’ relatively vulnerable rush defense — a unit that allowed an average 112.6 rushing yards per game, ranked 17th in the league. Though, cornerback Richard Sherman attests that those sticky rushing numbers are a result of inflated garbage time rushes.
“Throughout the year, people get fooled. They’re like ‘oh my god, they can’t stop the run,’” Sherman said after the game. “We get up in ballgames and people run for some yards and there are leaky yards in there.”
On Saturday, Cook was practically a non-factor, rushing for 18 yards on nine attempts, a two yard average per carry.
Coleman stole the show. And, in essence, his performance was emblematic of one of a historically aggressive run game from Shanahan and the 49ers. San Francisco ran the ball on 69 percent of offensive plays.
The backs took 47 carries, including 11 straight rushes in the second half — spliced by Coleman’s second touchdown at the one yard line. A simple scheme bore of a successful play-actionfilled first half.
“We didn’t start it out that way, you don’t start it out before saying we’re going to run every down,” Shanahan said. “You just call a run to start out and stick with it and eventually we scored. Half of us were asking where the throws were and we looked back and realized we didn’t throw any.”
FALSE ALARM >> The frightening sight of 49ers rookie star Nick Bosa writhing in pain on the turf put an immediate stop to the party atmosphere at Levi’s Stadium Saturday afternoon.
After a few nervous moments watching Bosa still down after recording his first sack in nearly a month, the hushed crowd began a rthymic chant of “Bosa! Bosa! Bosa!” The deafening cheer energized Bosa, who was helped to his feet by trainers and even danced a bit off the field while encouraging the crowd to get even louder during his Lazarus-like comeback.
In reality, there was no need to worry about Bosa. Just like there was little reason to be concerned whether the 49ers could dispose of the Vikings.
The dramatic pause for Bosa’s health may have made for a nice resurrection moment, but the first-year defensive end sheepishly admitted it shouldn’t have gone that far.
“It was just the breath knocked out of me,” Bosa said during a postgame, on-field NBC interview. “I’m probably gonna get fined by the (defensive linemen) for that one.”
But the scene wasn’t lost on NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth, who pointed out this 49ers team isn’t lacking for showmanship.
“This whole team has a little bit of big-time wrestling (in it), don’t you think?,” Collinsworth asked after Bosa went down following his early fourth-quarter sack. “I mean Kittle ... You could see one of those wrestlers, Gorgeous George or somebody, laid out on the mat, staggering off and fist-pumping and getting the crowd going.
“This team definitely likes to have fun.”