Tevin Coleman is the San Francisco 49ers' starting running back ... sort of. It's more accurate to say that Coleman has been on the field for the first offensive snap more often than any other running back on the roster. He has 11 "starts" this season, but it's actually Raheem Mostert who led the team in rushing yards during the regular season with 772.
Mostert's 5.6 yard-per-carry average led all NFL running backs this season with at least 100 carries. So it was only logical to assume he would, as was the case in the second half of the season, receive the majority of the workload on Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings.
It was actually Coleman who got the football more during the team's 27-10 playoff win. While Mostert had 12 carries for 58 yards, Coleman had 22 attempts for 105 and found the end zone twice. Both averaged 4.8 yards per carry.
"Kyle (Shanahan) said we were going to run the ball more than 30 times, so I definitely had that in my head," Coleman told NBC Sports Bay Area. "I had that mindset, and that's what we did. I woke up with the mindset we got to go. Win or we go home. We practice hard, and we went out there, and we did our jobs."
What does Saturday's performance mean for Coleman going forward? Absolutely nothing.
Shanahan has already made it clear he doesn't care about the "starter" label. He has several capable running backs at his disposal. The group helped the 49ers offense rank No. 2 in rushing yards during the regular season, averaging 144.1 yards per game.
On Saturday, it was just Coleman's opportunity to contribute.
"He looked good out there today," Shanahan said after Saturday's game. "Tevin, I know his numbers haven't been as great. Raheem has had some real good runs. I think Tevin has had some unfortunate looks, just the luck of the draw a little bit. I think he got some better looks today, took advantage of them. When you do that, I think it got him in a little bit of momentum.
"He was able to stay out there a little bit longer. I think he got some extra carries at the end, didn't have to split them as much with Raheem cramping and stuff. That's why we haven't changed much. We've been excited about Tevin all year. Glad he got his opportunities today. He came through big for us."
The 49ers signed Coleman to a two-year, $10 million deal on March 14, 2019, and added the former Atlanta Falcons player to what was already perceived to be a deep group of running backs.
"All the backs, they work hard," Coleman told NBC Sports' Michele Tafoya after the game. "All the backs, they fight hard. Any one of us can be in there and make plays."
