It was the perfect storm.
The 49ers went into the game Saturday night without their number 1 wide receiver, Ricky Pearsall. The significance of that was straightforward: quarterback Brock Purdy would need a little more time to throw since the player who can threaten the defense deep would not be there, and any deep routes would take longer to develop.
But remove Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, and all of a sudden Purdy would have less time. Against the Bears the week before, Purdy scrambled effectively, and running back Christian McCaffrey caught checkdowns for positive yardage. But Pearsall was on the field then, and therefore at least two defensive backs were deep to account for his speed.
But without a deep threat, the Seattle defense could sit on underneath routes. Without Williams, the defensive line brought pressure more quickly, and linebackers and safeties were close enough to take away checkdowns and scramble lanes.
And the 49ers were not able to move the ball.
But this article is not about missing Trent Williams, nor is it about missing Pearsall's speed.
We know that, whether General Manager John Lynch re-signs receiver Jauan Jennings or not, the 49ers will draft a wide receiver this spring, likely in the first few rounds. This receiver will likely have good speed. And we can presume that Jacob Cowing, who ran a blistering 4.38 40 at the Combine a few years ago, will be back. And of course, Pearsall will return.
John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have drafted wide receivers, and on balance, they have done so well. Speed will be addressed.
The offensive line is a different story. Missing Williams was a problem, but the issues of poor pass protection and poor run blocking have been present in almost every game. Saturday night, with Pearsall absent, it was even more imperative that the offense get the run game going. A strong running game will loosen up any defense and keep the safeties honest.
And this goes to the philosophy of how to build the offense. Throughout his tenure, Lynch has been content to put a subpar offensive line on the field to protect Purdy and to open lanes for McCaffrey.
That might work against weak to average teams. In the five games, CMC gained over 4 yards per carry, four were against teams with losing records. (The fifth team was the NFC's number two team, the Chicago Bears.) In the games against playoff-bound teams, he averaged under 3 yards per carry.
McCaffrey is one of the best backs in the league, and he has put up numbers that might land him in the Hall of Fame. For someone that good to be producing so little, the offensive line must be struggling mightily.
The 49ers only consider contending for a Super Bowl to be acceptable. But while they can get to the postseason with an average line, winning it all is a different story. Two years ago, San Francisco lost in overtime to the Chiefs. Kansas City's defensive line blew up the Niners' offensive line when the game was on the line. The subpar unit collapsed—literally—in the biggest of moments.
Last year, the Eagles' offensive line dominated the Chiefs' D-line, and Philly ran away with the title by three scores.
Saturday night's game was a disaster, with opportunities that could have made a big difference squandered. Purdy dropped back 30 times. He was sacked 3 times and hit 8. He scrambled twice. Time and again, he was unable to follow through on his throws. And on his last play, he was clobbered from the back and the front, and apparently suffered a stinger injury.
McCaffrey rushed for 2.9 yards per carry.
A few years ago, Seattle was a middling 9-8. One of their main weaknesses was the offensive line. Since then, General Manager John Schneider has selected ten offensive linemen in the draft and signed others. Two of those picks were in the first round and another in the third. And today, the Seattle Seahawks are the NFC West champions and have the NFC first-round bye.
Does anyone believe Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet are better than Christian McCaffrey? Is Sam Darnold as good as Brock Purdy? Would anyone rather have AJ Barner over George Kittle?
And yet the two Seahawks running backs both average at least a yard more per carry than CMC does.
Lynch needs to spend draft picks and money on the unglamorous players. Against weak defenses, an average line looks better than average. Against the top defenses, like Saturday night, average looks awful, and it's not fun to watch.