The San Francisco 49ers have had several impressive running back performances in the team's rich history. More recently, names like Frank Gore and Garrison Hearst posted multiple 1200-or-more yard seasons for the franchise. Before that, you have names like Roger Craig putting up Hall-of-Fame-type numbers — but for whatever reason, not being inducted into the Hall of Fame (a discussion for another time).
Matt Breida is averaging an impressive 5.8 yards per carry on 127 attempts this season with five games remaining. Just how impressive is that? You have to go back to 1958 to find the last 49ers running back with 125-or-more carries in a season who performed better. Hall of Fame running back Joe Perry averaged 6.1 yards on 125 carries in 1958.
Matt Breida's 5.8 yards per carry is the highest average for any #49ers RB with at least 125 carries since Joe Perry in 1958 (Perry had 6.1 ypc on 125 attempts that year) #49wz
— Al Sacco (@AlSacco49) November 28, 2018
Breida has had 26 runs of 10-or-more yards this season, which is tied for No. 3 in the NFL with Melvin Gordon of the Los Angeles Changers and behind only Ezekiel Elliott (32) of the Dallas Cowboys and Todd Gurley (29) of the Los Angeles Rams. Breida has 10 runs of 20-or-more yards, which is tied with Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants for the best in the league.
"I think worst case scenario next year, is a timeshare with [Jerick McKinnon] if McKinnon comes back healthy," Al Sacco recently said on the No Huddle Podcast. "Breida has earned, consistently, 10 to 15 touches in this offense every week for the foreseeable future."
Sacco's co-host, Zain Naqvi, goes even further and says the 49ers should consider starting Breida over McKinnon next season.
"I think that he's done more than enough to earn that starting slot," Naqvi said. "He's proven that he can handle the every-down workload and be kind of a bell-cow back. We didn't think he could do that because of his stature. He's kind of slight in stature. He's a smaller guy for an NFL running back, but he is so quick when he hits the hole. He has such good explosion."
Breida is becoming a better target in the passing game as well, something the 49ers paid a high price for when bringing McKinnon in over the offseason. Breida has 18 receptions on 18 catchable balls this year, according to Pro Football Focus. He hasn't dropped a catchable pass this season, which is a vast improvement over his six drops on 27 catchable passes during his rookie campaign.
What's even more interesting is that Breida has been putting up impressive numbers while battling injuries all season. Most recently, he has been dealing with an ankle injury to go along with the knee and shoulder issues he worked through this season.
"I think everyone's aware that he has been battling through an injury and it hasn't been able to heal, but he's been out there every week," Shanahan told reporters on Friday. "He's done a really good job, and he's as tough as anyone I've been around. That's why he's been able to get through this year.
"I wish it could've healed up, especially over the bye week and stuff. Once you think it's going to and he does, always with those lingering ankle issues, he tends to re-aggravate it during the game. So, what's been great about him is you rarely lose him for the whole game."
Breida rushed for over a 100 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. It was his second-straight game doing so and his third 100-plus-yard performance of the season. Breida is on pace to finish 2018 with 1,073 rushing yards, which would make him the first 49ers running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season since Frank Gore did so in 2014.
"This year is going to help him a lot, help us a ton," Shanahan continued. "I expect him to be even better going into next year."
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