The San Francisco 49ers leaned heavily on the passing game as Monday night's matchup against the Detroit Lions progressed. Of quarterback Brock Purdy's 24 second-half plays, 22 were pass attempts.
On Wednesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan discussed the decision to shift away from the run game in favor of a pass-heavy approach late in the matchup.
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"I thought we needed to throw it to win," Shanahan told reporters. "I think I threw it like 16 times in a row, which I didn't plan on doing that, but also didn't plan on having some of those penalties. Got into some 2nd-and-20s. We had a 1st-and-15, then a delay of game that went into a 2nd-and-20. Then, we had a two-minute drive, trying to come back, down two scores.
"I think that's why it got out of hand. But, our plan going into that game was we knew we were going to have to throw it a lot more to win."
When asked if injuries along the offensive line, which forced the team to play newcomers up front, influenced the decision, Shanahan acknowledged it played a role but wasn't the primary factor.
"To a degree," Shanahan said. "But also, it has to do with how their defense was built. I thought it was easier to get yards throwing the ball than running."
Shanahan highlighted Detroit's potent offense and stout run defense as significant contributors to the altered game plan in the second half.
"When you're in a game where you feel you've got to score every series, you're not going to be as patient with something that—I mean, they're a real good run defense, the way they commit to it," Shanahan said. "I think they were fourth in the league, regardless of their injuries. Their style of defense is tough to run the ball against, and when you have some different alignment in there, it's a little tougher to block against.
"And the combination of that, with what I thought we could do in the pass game, was going to take the higher percentage plays to attempt to try to score over 40."
