New York Giants Week 3: Examining the San Francisco 49ers Offense

Brandon Olsen breaks down the names we need to know on the San Francisco 49ers offense, the scheme, and more.

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
Sep 20, 2023 9:31 AM EDT

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It’s time for the New York Giants to face their toughest matchup yet in the form of the San Francisco 49ers, who host the Giants on Thursday Night Football. Can the Giants stand toe-to-toe with the NFC Conference champion runner-up team, or are we in for a blowout?

Let's zoom in on the 49ers offensive personnel to see what the Giants are up against.

Personnel

Last season, the 49ers shocked the world by being an elite team that then went out and made a blockbuster trade for running back Christian McCaffrey, arguably the most versatile running back in the NFL in terms of being elite both as a runner and receiver.

So far in 2023, McCaffrey has had 42 carries with 42.8% of them going outside of the tackles, although he’s been relatively controlled when getting out in that space, averaging just 3.22 yards per carry outside of the tackles. On the season, he’s averaging 6.4 yards per carry and 5.33 yards after contact per carry.

McCaffrey hasn’t been a focal point of the passing game so far in 2023 due to the emergence of Brandon Aiyuk, but that could change this Thursday with Aiyuk dealing with a shoulder injury and the Giants being an aggressive defense, allowing for more quick check-down opportunities.

Quarterback Brock "Mr. Irrelevant" Purdy has exceeded all expectations for his career, making the most of his opportunity in San Francisco. Purdy isn’t the most physically gifted quarterback on the planet, but he has the IQ to operate this offense at a high level.

Purdy is an accurate passer underneath who struggles when working downfield and can make plays with his legs either scrambling away from pressure or as a designed runner, which the 49ers dabbled in during 2022 but haven’t looked for so far this season.

The 49ers have two very good wide receivers in Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Both players are effective as route runners and have their roles carved out in this offense to put them in a position to succeed.

Deebo is an offensive weapon that has been used as a “wide back” throughout his career, similar to how Percy Harvin was used at the University of Florida under Urban Meyer. Samuel hasn’t lined up much in the backfield in 2023, but he’s still been involved as a ball carrier. He also operates primarily as the underneath pass-catcher Purdy looks to as a safety valve with big play potential.

Aiyuk has always been a good receiver and even better route runner, but this season, he seems to have come into his own as a true #1 option. On 14 targets this season, Aiyuk has 11 catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns with an average depth of target of 13.9 yards.

George Kittle is arguably the best tight end in the NFL and has been for the past few seasons. (Travis Kelce of the Chiefs is a glorified slot receiver, but that’s a discussion for another day.) Kittle hasn’t been as impactful in the passing game as usual. Still, similar to McCaffrey’s production in the passing game, that’s more about the receiver stepping up than anything involving Kittle.

Scheme

Welcome to the terror dome. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and his coaching tree have made a living off of being able to stretch defenses in every way imaginable and give them fits in the run game while also clearing easy completions for their quarterback in the passing game.

The 49ers' constant movement pre-snap is built to make sure that the defense doesn’t often get to run the initial play they were anticipating. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk and Samuel are the keys to that, with their positional versatility and usage all around the offense.

With the wide zone style that the 49ers run, their offensive linemen and tight ends are required to block horizontally to create vertical rushing lanes for the ball carrier. That doesn’t mean all of these runs go to the outside; rather,, the blocking is set to give the running back multiple options.

In the passing game, the short pass is the bread and butter for this offense as long as Purdy is the quarterback. Already, 55.5 percent of his passes have traveled shorter than ten yards past the line of scrimmage; these short passes allow for yards-after-the-catch opportunities for dynamic playmakers.

The Giants linebackers will be tested more than anyone else due to the amount of pre-snap movement, tight end usage in the passing game, middle-of-the-field focus, and the need to make plays in the run game. The Shanahan style is to put linebackers in the most difficult position possible, and that’s not changing this week.

What This Means for the Giants

This is one of the toughest matchups for the Giants this entire season. From a personnel standpoint, the 49ers have one of the most dynamic skill position groups in the NFL, with playmakers at every level. This is the game where Giants fans will get to see linebacker Bobby Okereke have the most responsibility possible, and it’s also where Isaiah Simmons should play more than he’s played to this point.

As mentioned earlier, the Shanahan style is to put linebackers in the most difficult position possible. With the Giants investing big money in Okereke and trading for Simmons, now is the time to show that this coaching staff has a plan for these players.

Luckily for the Giants, the best way to demolish zone blocking is to clog the rushing lanes with defensive linemen, then have linebackers fill the remaining gaps, and safeties have to come up and make the tackle in the run game.

It’s not the most creative thought process, but the Giants need to accept that the 49ers will be able to complete short passes, it’s just important to come up and make the tackle after the completion or after the handoff.

Final Thoughts

After a rough showing last week where even the Arizona Cardinals' offense looked good against this Giants' defense, New York has to have a big bounce-back performance against a strong offense and offensive line.

This is probably the toughest offense of the season that the Giants will face outside of the Eagles whenever they figure things out. This sure would be a good game for the inconsistent Giants defense to finally show it's jelled.