Reel-to-Reel: Breaking Down the 49ers' Preseason Victory Over Denver
Professional preseason football is usually not an exciting affair. Most of the team’s stars are often on the sidelines chewing sunflower seeds or given one series to shake off any off-season rust. After that, the viewer is watching a back-and-forth sloppy tennis match.
But that was not the case during the San Francisco 49ers’ week two preseason win over the Denver Broncos. No, sir, the Faithful were treated to three consecutive fourth-quarter drives that helped the 49ers scratch out a victory. Third-year quarterback Trey Lance played four series, with veteran quarterback Sam Darnold running the offense midway through the first quarter to nearly the end of the third quarter.
Second-year quarterback Brock Purdy opened the game, taking nine snaps and driving the offense to a field goal to open the game.
If your time is short, here are a few quick takeaways from the 49ers’ victory.
First, Lance performed better than he did against the Las Vegas Raiders. He struggled in his opening series but bounced back and led three decisive drives to seal a victory. Lance can be, however, still uncertain with the ball and is struggling to hit the intermediate crossing route on some plays.
Second, Darnold made good throws on some of Shanahan’s staple plays, such as ‘Dragon-Lion-Over’ and ‘Drift-Swirl.’ He didn’t do anything that truly set him apart from Lance. Lance’s rebound from a cringe-worthy interception was worth more than Darnold’s overall performance.
Finally, don’t read into right tackle Colton McKivitz’s ‘clean sheet’ over 12 total plays. In 2021, PFF awarded then-right guard Aaron Banks a 0.0 grade for his first NFL preseason game, causing the aristocrat choir to sing the ‘bust pick’ song gleefully.
PFF noted McKivitz had 12 clean plays against Denver, resulting in some of us singing hymns. McKivitz might be a quality replacement for Mike McGlinchey. But he didn’t face any real adversity against Denver, with a few movement plays rolling away from his side and at least three where he had nobody to block. Statistics deserve context, not just a blanket statement.
Below are a handful of plays from Purdy, Darnold and Lance I found interesting. I also posted a longer thread on X which you can review here.
1st Quarter - 1st & 10 at the DEN 46 (14:15)
One thing I enjoy about preseason football is watching head coach Kyle Shanahan build a game plan around his foundational plays. He’ll call many of these throughout the season, but I find it interesting how many of these plays have been in Shanahan’s playbook for years - and they are still in use and very effective.
On the game’s second play, Shanahan called ‘West Left Slot F Right 2 Jet X Arches.’ You can impress your friends this season and quickly identify ‘arches’ if it’s called.
First, look for an ‘eliminator’ route - similar to a drag or drive route in some offenses. Behind the ‘eliminator’ is always the ‘arches’ route. ‘Arches’ looks like a slant, but the stem is curved to sell a seam route. At five yards, the receiver slants inside and is the immediate read for the quarterback. It’s a timing throw between the quarterback and receiver, and the receiver must win the inside for the play to be successful.
The combined ‘arches’ and ‘eliminator ‘routes, the first and second reads of the play, often will create a soft spot in the defense.
Purdy had just completed a lay-up throw to wide receiver Deebo Samuel to open the game but did not take another easy shot to hit wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk running the ‘arches’ route. One might look at the screenshot and see a small window for Purdy to needle the football, but this is the NFL. Not every space will be gifted to a quarterback, and there are times to trust your ability and let it rip. And, again, it’s preseason. It’s better to test this throw now so you know you can make it when it counts.
Unfortunately, Purdy pulled the ball down, scrambled, and threw an incomplete pass to Samuel.
Shanahan would call ‘arches’ again later in the game, and Lance made a great throw to wide receiver Tay Martin for an 8-yard gain.
3rd Quarter - 2nd and 1 at the DEN 11 (3:01)
Darnold capped his last possession by leading a 9-play, 63-yard touchdown drive that chewed up 4:41 minutes of clock. Shanahan called ‘I Right Tite Flow 6 Y Corner Z Cross’ to end the drive and put six points on the board.
‘Y Corner Z Cross’ is a mesh play, and easy enough to explain the terminology.
I Right is the backfield set and strength of the formation.
Tite brings the X receiver in next to the tackle.
Flow 6 is the pass protection, which is 6-man turn protection. The offensive line uses gap protection, while the play side guard and tackle sell a hard-running play. The fullback bluffs a block on the end man on the line of scrimmage and heads immediately to the flat. The halfback then cut the first defender outside of the tackle box.
Y Corner tells the tight end to run a corner route, while Z Cross instructs the Z to run a high shallow cross, with the X receiver running a low shallow cross.
The quarterback’s first read is the fullback, the X’s low shallow cross is the second, and the Y receiver is the third.
Denver’s defense was wildly confused by the crossing routes, as noted by the jumbled mess of defenders in the middle of the field. Nobody was around fullback Jack Colletto who rumbled his way into the end zone.
NFL touchdowns do not come easy, and I agree with celebrating anytime the 49ers find the end zone. But the 49ers’ color commentators were far too overjoyed with this throw from Darnold, hooting and hollering as if the ball was a frozen rope throw that traveled 57 yards the field.
4th Quarter - 1st and 10 at the SF 37 (11:05)
I know - the play below didn’t count due to Denver getting flagged for illegal use of the hands. However, it was a great throw from Lance and excellent protection from his linemen. You might remember Shanahan calling ‘X Read’ in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs last year.
And yes, this is a one-read play for Lance.
P14 Weak is play-action protection off of a ‘Wanda’ run. Typically, the F is allowed into the play, but the ‘solid’ tag on the protection tells the F to stay in and block, creating a seven-man protection.
We can split hairs on the timing of the throw, but wide receiver Ronnie Bell dropped the pass. Further, it’s evidence that Lance can make these big downfield throws with more repetitions. I want to see Shanahan work ‘X Read’ into the calls this Friday to see if Lance can improve the play.
I should note that some criticized Shanahan for calling a seven-step drop from under center a few plays later. However, those complaining about that play disregarded ‘X Read,’ which also called for a seven-step drop from under center.
Football is a risky game. A quarterback can take an equally big hit on a three-step drop if his protection fails, or he could suffer a non-contact injury in practice. There’s no sense in leaving out seven-step drops due to fear of injury or thinking that, somehow, Shanahan is purposely calling these plays to watch Lance suffer.
Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers will help set the stage for the 49ers’ regular season offense. I’d like to see all three quarterbacks operate in hurry-up situations, even if it occurs in the middle of the quarter. Further, I am hopeful Shanahan continues to sprinkle in the movement plays, which seem to be a sticking point for Lance. He needs to find the confidence to hit the low cross.
Mostly, I am excited to see what the starting offense can do for a series or three.
Oh, and please sign Nick Bosa. Thank you.
Video and screenshots courtesy of NFL.com. All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless noted.