Did uncalled holding penalties help the San Francisco 49ers en route to their big offensive performance against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday? Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer seems to think so.
Zimmer told reporters after his team's 34-26 loss to the 49ers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday that the 49ers were holding with frequency throughout the game and that officials weren't consistent in calling penalties. Zimmer made the comments after being asked about runs made by 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who had six carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns during the game.
"I think we misaligned on that one (run). The other ones were -- these guys hold all the time, so they're grabbing us around the waist, grabbing our backs," Zimmer said. "The officials, they don't want to call it every play, but until they start calling every play, they're not going to stop doing it."
The 49ers were called for five penalties during the game, two of them for offensive holding. Both calls were on guard Laken Tomlinson.
Zimmer wanted to see more holding penalties than that and was in the ear of the officials at times during the game for that reason.
"Most of the day that's what I was talking to them about," Zimmer said.
49ers tight end George Kittle was asked about Zimmer's comments during his media session after the game. He seemed to disagree with Zimmer's assessment, then added that he was getting held as well... then had some words for Zimmer at the end.
"I think if you're running your feet and your hands inside just because a guy spins and flails his arms, it's not holding," Kittle said. "He's just flopping. You can watch plenty of pass plays; I felt I got a holding call out there on a pass route. I got hugged and tackled. I think there were like three of those out there that don't get called. It's football, you know? Refs throw flags, refs don't throw flags. It's just the game. If you're going to sit on the sideline and complain about holding the whole time, I'd tell your guys to make better plays."
Whether it was holding or not, the 49ers were highly successful running the ball against the Vikings on Sunday, totaling 39 carries for 208 yards (5.3 average) with three touchdowns. Rookie Elijah Mitchell led all rushers with 27 carries for 133 yards and one touchdown. The 49ers racked up 423 total yards on offense against the Vikings, with their performance on the ground going a long way in helping them dominate time of possession (37:07 to 22:53) in the victory.