49ers mailbag: Biggest concerns about facing Detroit? How does SF defense match up against Lions’ offense? Why aren’t the 49ers running the ball more?

The San Francisco 49ers didn't make it easy on themselves in the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs. And they didn't make it very easy on their fans, either. But in the end, the 49ers were victorious over the Green Bay Packers and moved on to their third straight NFC Championship Game.

And now, everyone's attention turns to the Detroit Lions, a team that finished with the same record as the 49ers. The Lions have a talented offense that could give the 49ers' defense a lot of trouble. For years, the 49ers have been carried by the defense, but this season, the once-dominant unit has shown some signs of slowing down. Can the defense keep the Lions under control enough for the offense to outscore the Detroit offense? That will be the big question that the 49ers will need to answer.

We opened the 49ers Webzone Mailbag this week to see what was on your mind. Many of you had questions about the Packers game, as well as the NFC Championship Game against the Lions. So let's jump in and take a look:

What should be the 49ers' biggest concerns about this Detroit Lions team? - Ed H.

The top concern facing the Lions has to be trying to slow down that running game. Detroit has one of the league's best rushing attacks. Their offensive line is very good, and they have multiple backs that can hurt you. Jahmyr Gibbs is the speedster who can score from anywhere. David Montgomery is the more traditional back that the Lions run between the tackles.

Then, once they get the ground game going, it opens up the play-action passing game, where they can get the ball into the hands of their talented pass catchers, namely Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta. That's the 49ers' biggest concern, the San Francisco defense trying to stop the Detroit offense.

As far as other concerns, I'd put them in this order:

1. Will Deebo Samuel play? The offense doesn't look the same without him.
2. Is it going to rain? Brock Purdy is a different quarterback when it rains. So far, it looks like the weather will not be an issue.
3. Is there a way to hide Ambry Thomas? He is the weak link on the defense.

I'm curious to know your thoughts about how the 49ers' defense will match up against this potent Lions offense (Gibbs/Montgomery combo, La Porta, St. Brown, Reynolds). - Jordan

Wow, that's a lot of weapons Jordan just listed. Now I'm really nervous. I'm kidding. Sort of.

This is the biggest concern, as mentioned in the previous response. The 49ers have not been as good against the run lately. And now they will face one of the best running games in the league.

And Jared Goff has had an excellent season. He has a lot of weapons, and he's playing with plenty of confidence. The 49ers' defense wasn't great on Saturday, but they came up big when they needed to. If they can do that again, the 49ers will be heading back to the Super Bowl. But slowing down that dynamic Detroit offense will not be an easy task.

My hope is that the 49ers' defense will be much more focused on stopping the run this week. If they can do that, and start to get some pressure on Goff, they can force him into some mistakes.If they can't slow down the run game and get pressure on Goff, it may be a long day for the defense—and the fanbase.

The 49ers haven't been playing very well ever since they lost against the Baltimore Ravens. Why? If they want this Super Bowl. They better start playing better football!! Both sides of the ball - Hal O.

That's a good question, and I'm sure head coach Kyle Shanahan is wondering the same thing. During the Ravens game, I thought they were just tired. But they should have been well rested on Saturday. Perhaps it was rust. Or the weather. Or maybe they overlooked the Packers.

Regardless, it was strange the see them play so poorly in the postseason. That's usually when this team shines. And Hal is right. The 49ers need to start playing better or their season will end next Sunday.

Why aren't all the receivers being utilized? We have too many weapons not to be used. We're not helpless without Deebo. Get some openings for CMC. - Jason D.

The 49ers are not helpless without Samuel. After all, they won without him. But they are not as nearly as good without their "wide back."

As far as not utilizing weapons, there's only one ball. And with so many talented options, there will be times that someone doesn't get the ball as much. Brandon Aiyuk was underused against Green Bay, but part of that was how the Packers were playing. Once Samuel went down, Green Bay was able to shift more attention toward Aiyuk, and he saw some double-teams.

Most of the time, though, Shanahan and Purdy do a good job of spreading the ball around. I do think it would have been interesting, once Samuel left the game, to have had Christian McCaffrey line up wide or in the slot some, and put Elijah Mitchell in the backfield on those plays.

If CMC and Deebo are clones then when Deebo goes down why don't we put CMC in for him and let Mitchell and Mason run the rock? - Dan C.

I mentioned this in my previous response. I would have liked to have seen McCaffrey take some snaps in Samuel's role, and have Mitchell or Jordan Mason in the backfield. Not a lot, but at least for some plays here and there.

Why aren't we getting a whole lot of pressure on the QB? We have some great D ends and a pretty good D Line. - Lyle L.

Will the 49ers defensive front be able to generate some pressure on Goff? They didn't seem to get much pressure on Love. Goff under pressure has to be one of the Lions' biggest weaknesses. - KCarps

I would say the biggest surprise of the season is that the pass rush sometimes disappears. Nick Bosa has been great, but not like he was a year ago. Chase Young has been good, but I'm not sure he's lived up to what they expected him to be when they traded for him. Javon Hargrave has been unblockable at times. And then other times, he's been quiet.

A lot of teams have taken the approach to get the ball out quickly before the pass rush gets home. But not all the teams have done that. And when opposing offenses have taken deeper drops, the pass rush still hasn't been as dynamic as in seasons past. The 2019 pass rush, for example, was smothering. It was last season, as well, until injuries and fatigue started slowing them down.

It would be a massive advantage for the 49ers if their pass rush could come alive against the Lions and put a lot of heat on Goff. But it won't be easy. That Detroit offensive line is good in the run game and pass protection.

Why are we using Deebo on kickoffs? Hope he's gonna be okay after getting injured. - John M.

Because he's better than anyone else at returning kicks. I realize Ray-Ray McCloud is back, but who do you trust more with the ball? Not only is Samuel better with the ball in his hands than McCloud is, but Samuel isn't as prone to fumbling as McCloud.

As far as Samuel's injured shoulder, tests were negative, and Samuel reportedly has a 50/50 chance of playing. But he's also still dealing with pain, so we'll have to wait and see how he feels in a couple of days. If there's a chance for him to play, I bet he plays.

Do you think that playing earlier and in better weather will help out a lot with Brock's play or should we expect similar struggles with the Lions Pass-Rush and Secondary? - Enzo

Playing in better weather will help immensely. I just don't believe Purdy throws a wet ball very well. We've seen him struggle with accuracy in wet games versus how he normally looks. It's night and day. You could tell he was bothered by the weather, if nowhere else, on the play when the camera caught him wiping off his throwing hand while he was dropping back to pass.

Purdy was asked if the rain affected his accuracy after the game. He said, "Yeah, I think early on. Obviously, I put on the glove for the first drive it was coming down and then it sprinkled, so I took it off. So, I was still trying to sort of figure out what I wanted to do and I was sort of fed up with the glove, so I just obviously was throwing like I normally do. And there were some times where I'm dropping back, ball's a little wet from the grass, so sort of affected some accuracy and stuff, but that's football, so I have to be better in that area."

The 49ers attempted 39 passes and only 24 rushes against a suspect Packers run defense. Why was this the case, especially after Deebo went out and the rainy conditions? - Niner Jim

Niner Jim isn't the only one to ask about why Shanahan threw the ball so much on a night when his QB was struggling, they were missing Samuel, playing in the rain, and facing a defense that isn't known for playing the run very well. I thought it would be a run-heavy game plan regardless of the rain and injury to Samuel. But Shanahan must have seen something on film that made him think a pass-heavy attack was better.

The 49ers are better when they run the ball more. And it shows in the win column, which is the most important part. I would have expected more commitment to a ground game, but that didn't happen. Is it because Shanahan didn't adjust? It's hard to say.

Why wasn't McCaffrey used more in Saturday's game; and if the answer is not wanting to aggravate his calf injury, then why didn't Mitchell & Mason receive a single carry? - Phil

It didn't have anything to do with McCaffrey's calf injury. The star running back played 63 of 64 offensive snaps. The only snap he missed was the final play when the 49ers were in victory formation and running out the clock.

And it's not like McCaffrey wasn't effective. Matt Barrows, in his "Minutia Minute" column for The Athletic, wrote, "But there's no question McCaffrey, who hadn't played since Dec. 31, looked sharp, powerful and well rested. He had 74 yards after contact, per Pro Football Focus, which was his fourth-highest total of the season. He also forced nine missed tackles by the Packers, a season-high for McCaffrey. Both of his touchdowns included broken tackles against Packers defensive backs."

I remember wondering why McCaffrey wasn't getting more touches, as well. But he touched the ball 24 times (17 carries, seven catches). He averaged 5.8 yards per rush and probably should have been given more carries.

Why didn't Brown play--especially given the shaky DB play the first 3 quarters? - Scott B.

Shanahan addressed that question after the game. Here's what he said:

"We knew that we kind of decided that when Ji'Ayir had missed about four weeks. I think it was two games, but he had been out four weeks. He's been awesome in practice. I love Ji'Ayir. It has nothing to do with him. Just our experience of playoff games being around us. I think it's a lot when you got a rookie who hasn't played in a month, who is a very passionate, aggressive player. I just don't want to put all that on him, to have him go out in the playoff game when he hasn't been out there for four weeks. Especially when you have a veteran behind him who could just calm down a little bit. If things would've gone differently, we would've put Ji'Ayir in right away. But we don't want to do that really to Ji'Ayir."

I think it came down to the fact that Logan Ryan is postseason-tested, and has even started in the Super Bowl. Ji'Ayir Brown is a rookie who not only didn't play much in the regular season but had an injury that kept him from playing for the final couple of weeks. I believe the 49ers coaches are hesitant to start a rookie unless they have a lot of trust in that rookie. I don't think Brown has had enough playing time to earn that trust yet. Ryan missed a tackle on Aaron Jones' 53-yard run. I wonder if the coaches may go back to Brown for the Lions game.

Could Ji'Ayir or Logan slide to replace Ambry? Could Womack be activated and Ambry be deactivated? - Jordan

Brown and Ryan are safeties, so they won't be replacing Thomas, who is a corner. And I don't think the coaching staff will be starting Samuel Womack or Darrell Luter, Jr. over Thomas. It's like I mentioned in the previous response, Shanahan and his staff prefer experience over upside in games like this. That's why they went with Ryan over Brown, and it's why Thomas will likely remain a starter over some of the other corners. He has more postseason experience.

Perhaps they can upgrade that position next season.

I love KS as much as the next guy, but he was atrocious on Saturday. Okay, I get that the game plan was probably Deebocentric, BUT… The last 2 minutes of 1st half was a disgrace. Brock struggling to grip the ball and CMC has 11 carries ( approx) before the final drive? Where was Mitchell? - TheGreavance

"Deebocentric." Nice work creating a new word.

Yes, I do think the game plan was going to be "Deebo-heavy" (I created a new word, too). They should have run the ball more, especially since, as I already mentioned, McCaffrey was averaging almost six yards per carry. I would have liked to have seen Elijah Mitchell get some of those carries. I'm a little surprised he didn't, considering how much Shanahan trusts him. Mitchell has never fumbled in his NFL career. On a rainy night, with a wet football, that would seem to be a good time to get him some carries.

I hated Shanahan's approach on the drive before halftime. I know he was trying to use up the clock and keep the Packers from getting the ball back. And he said they were trying to score on that drive. But it seemed as though he was calling the game a little scared on that possession.

Maybe he thought Jimmy Garoppolo was still his QB. Sorry. I'll see myself out.

At what point do we really start to worry about Kyle Shanahan's propensity to overthink situations in big games, resulting in weird play calls and poor game management? - Jeremy M.

I thought the Green Bay game was one of Shanahan's worst. There were several questionable decisions and play calls. That includes his decision to be more conservative right before halftime. But I think that had more to do with Purdy's struggles and the weather. But that didn't go well.

Then they came out after halftime and went three-and-out, after a couple of questionable calls, one of which was a run to Jauan Jennings. Shanahan explained that play, though. "Those are some of the challenges," Shanahan said, "when something goes down and you call a wristband number. I forgot to tell him to not read Hessi. But sometimes we just Ron Burgundy our wristbands. Then you look up and Jauan's in the backfield and you can't stop it."

So he didn't mean to call a run play to Jennings. It's kind of funny now, after the win and hearing the explanation, but it wasn't funny in the moment.

Which team would you prefer the 49ers face in the Super Bowl? The Ravens or the Chiefs? - Dave B.

This is tough. Would I rather the 49ers face one of the greatest QBs in NFL history, Patrick Mahomes, whose Kansas City defense isn't that special? Or would I rather face Lamar Jackson and a very good Baltimore Ravens defense?

I still think defense wins championships, so that makes me not want to face the Ravens. But we've already seen, up close and personal, what Mahomes can do in the Super Bowl. I also think that Jackson is more likely to have a bad game and turn the ball over.

And even though the Ravens beat the 49ers convincingly on Christmas night, the 49ers did move the ball against them. I don't think they would throw five interceptions again. So I think I would prefer to face the Ravens over the Chiefs.

That's all we have for this week. Thank you for all your questions. Check back next week for another edition of the 49ers Webzone Mailbag.

• Marc Adams
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