San Francisco 49ers running back Matt Breida owes a lot of credit to wide receiver Pierre Garçon for Sunday's 66-yard scamper down the field for a critical score against the Detroit Lions. Breida had the initial burst to get past the first layer of the defense and then used Garçon as a human shield during the longest run of his career and the longest for the franchise since a 90-yard run by Colin Kaepernick against the San Diego Chargers in 2014.
When the play was over, the man who handed Breida the football congratulated his running back, but not until he first congratulated the man who blocked for him.
"It was incredible," quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said after the game. "I was behind him the whole way just trying to catch up to him. They were running really fast, though. I went up to [Garçon] before I went up to Matt because those are the little things that go unnoticed."
Pierre Garçon deserves some fantasy points for this insane block.
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/HL0DTKjXdj
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) September 16, 2018
The 49ers are hoping for big combined years out of Breida and Alfred Morris. The duo is tasked with replacing the team's big offseason acquisition and offensive weapon, Jerick McKinnon, who is out for the season with a torn ACL.
"A lot of people thought this year I was going to get as much playing time as I did last year," Breida said on Sunday. "They planned on using both of us a lot. LIke I said, it sucks that Jet went down, but me and Alfred — Alfred had a great game too, and I feel like me and him are going to be able to help this team out a lot, and we're going to have a great year."
Breida is doing his part. He leads NFL running backs through two games with 184 rushing yards and a league-leading average of 8.4 yards per carry (among backs with 5-or-more carries). Even without Sunday's 66-yard run, Breida would still be averaging an impressive 5.6 yards per attempt.
Breida's 12.5 yards per run against Detroit is the third-best single-game rushing average in franchise history with a minimum of 10 attempts. Only Joe Perry (13.4 vs. Detroit on 11/2/58) and Frank Gore (12.9 vs. Seattle on 9/20/09) have done better. That is some good company to be among.
What impresses head coach Kyle Shanahan about his second-year running back — a player who was signed as an undrafted free agent last year?
"Just not hesitating," Shanahan said. "There were a few runs that we felt we had a chance going into the game to hit. When we did get those, there was zero hesitation. He hit them."
Breida's 138 rushing yards against Detroit are the most in a single game for any player this season. The performance was his first with 100-or-more rushing yards. Breida also added three receptions for 21 yards and recorded a Pro Football Focus grade of 90.6, which led all running backs during Week 2.
Morris has played 59 offensive snaps this season compared to Breida's 52. He has 26 carries for 86 yards, which is good enough for an average of 3.31 yards per run. Of course, the 49ers are using him in different situations.
Morris received the football in seven of the 49ers' eight carries in the fourth quarter as the team tried to run out the clock and seal the victory. While Breida has the younger legs and is more of a speedster, Morris is the bigger back who is better at breaking arm tackles, according to Shanahan. He's the guy the head coach put in when the objective was first downs and not explosive plays.
That doesn't necessarily mean one running back is better than the other in those situations. Morris is eighth in the league in yards per carry up the middle at 4.3, according to ESPN Stats, while Breida is tied for ninth at 4.17.
"I think they both do similar things well," Garoppolo said. "At the same time, they're both slashers, they can get the edge, they can run downhill. Even for Matt being a smaller guy, he gets downhill and will deliver a blow. I thought they played tremendous [against the Lions]."
"I think [Breida] and Alfred have their strengths," fullback Kyle Juszczyk said on Sunday. "Matt is very explosive, and Alfred does a great job of turning out those ugly yards, he is always falling forward. That is not a takeaway from either of them. They both do both well, and those are the strengths of those two guys."
For Breida, 2018 is an opportunity to prove himself. With McKinnon out and his performance against the Lions, opposing defensive coordinators aren't going to look past the explosive young running back.
"Whenever a great player like that does down, next man up," Breida said. "We want to prove that our team is just as good on that second depth or third depth. We're going to be able to have a great year this year."
Breida and Morris will have a tough task this weekend when the 49ers visit the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. While the Chiefs defense ranks last in the NFL against the pass, the unit ranks No. 6 against the run.
