The 49ers' Super Bowl Sequence: Five Plays to Victory
It has not been an easy playoff path to the Super Bowl for the San Francisco 49ers. Maybe the players and coaches knew they'd win both games, but the close contests shaved eons of combined life from the 49ers' fan base.
The slings and arrows of a three-game skid, questions of where a defensive coordinator should be during a game, and even the trade of a first-round pick have all come and gone. All these roads have led toward Las Vegas.
There are hundreds of keys to a 49ers victory on Sunday. It boils down to the sequence of plays head coach Kyle Shanahan develops and any new wrinkles on staple plays.
During Super Bowl LIV media week, a reporter asked Shanahan about installing a game plan and putting it together. Shanahan provided an interesting response.
“No one ever really saves a play. There’s not the magical playbook. It’s just tying your guys together, going against whatever schemes, fronts, and coverages you’re going against. I would be very surprised if anyone in the history going forward could ever come up with a new play. There’s only five eligibles, and it’s probably been done before.”
Indeed, we all have our favorite plays and what we might call in a particular situation. And that's allowed – we're fans, and some of us have a legitimate opinion. But Shanahan's system blends like a single-malt scotch, and the subtleties help enhance the body of the entire drink.
And, like Coca-Cola guarding the ingredients under armed guard, only Shanahan can unlock the correct order of his offense to unleash a fury in Las Vegas to grind the Kansas City Chiefs defense into a confused pulp.
Below, I've pulled together five plays from the year that bring out the parts of Shanahan's system he can use to exploit a sleeping defense.
Week 2: 3rd Quarter – 1 & 10 at the SF 46 (3:26)
Outside zone runs are a fundamental pillar of Shanahan's offense. It will be no surprise to the paid crowd or Chiefs' defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo when the 49ers run plays like 18/19 Zorro, Zap, or Force.
The first spear on the side of the Chiefs will be a movement play, such as the one below.
Here’s a diagram for Z Fly to North Right Close F Right Fake Toss 18 Zap Stay Keep Left Y Shallow.'
Typically, 18/19 Zap is a single-back play that attacks the strong side of the formation. The running back is aiming toward the outside leg of the tight end, while the offensive line is using outside zone blocking rules. These tenants are standard for nearly any outside zone run.
On the 49ers' 6th possession of the game, Shanahan called in 'Z Fly to North Right Close F Right Fake Toss 18 Zap Stay Keep Left Y Shallow.'
There were two keys to the play. First, both Ram linebackers honored fullback Kyle Juszczyk's motion across the formation.
Second, running back Christian McCaffrey had already ripped a 51-yard run late in the first half on 'Toss 19 Zorro Cat.' He was still on the minds of both Ram linebackers, who flowed with Juszczyk's motion and then bit hard on the fake toss.
By the time both had figured out they were duped, tight end George Kittle was wide open on a shallow cross route. Purdy also had the option of wide receiver Debo Samuel, who was also open on a high cross.
Shanahan has multiple designs for the movement series, allowing the quarterback a half-field read with deep, intermediate, and short routes.
Now, I have a strong bias for plays that are quick, easy hits for a quarterback. I don't care if these plays gain 9 or 49 yards – these are valuable to catch a defense napping or as a big play to regain some of the game's momentum.
Week 7: 4th Quarter - 1 & 10 at the SF 40 (1:11)
The Week 7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings was a bitter pill, but the 49ers still had a shot to win the game in the 4th quarter. So, worry less about that game and more about the play below.
I'm a big fan of getting the ball to Samuel, Kittle, or McCaffrey on slant routes with blockers in front of them. These plays are sure to gain at least 15 yards.
Should Shanahan want to call a faster series, I would expect him to call it a 'Buffalo' concept. The 49ers appeared to be in a Trips Wide Right Open formation in this play. On the trips side, Shanahan called a 'Buffalo' concept a pick-play, allowing the quarterback to hit the receiver on the 'now' route.
The primary read for Purdy is Kittle's 'thru' route, but the 'Now' route is hot and is the second read.
That play, or even a mesh concept with dual shallow crossing routes, is an ideal call to get the ball into the hands of a top-skill player with room to run.
Week 4: 3rd Quarter – 2 & 3 at the ARI 34 (2:46)
If you've followed my sporadic writing and X threads over the past few seasons, you'll know my affinity for Shanahan's gap scheme. These plays include Stanley, GF Counter, Stutter, Pop, and Power. Many of these runs will pull a guard to the strong side to take on the end man on the line or have the fullback block the end while the pulling guard goes through the lane to clear a linebacker.
Anyone who has played football had a power run in the playbook. Shanahan's design is similar to what your high school coach drew on the overhead projector.
In the Week 4 contest against the Arizona Cardinals, Shanahan called in F Fly to North Right clamp F Right 16 Power. Arizona aligned in a 34 front with a double guard bubble.
The critical indicator with a Power run is the unblocked defender at the end of the line; he was Juszczyk's responsibility. As the offensive line blocked to the left, Left guard Aaron Banks followed Juszczyk and turned upfield to take on Arizona linebacker Kyzir White.
McCaffrey is a threat to break a big play on any run play, but I have always liked watching him weave through the churn of players on a gap call. He put a slight move on safety K'Von Wallace and picked up 10 yards.
Gap plays can all be used to complement the two plays below.
Week 12: 3rd Quarter – 1 & 10 at the SF 25 (3:13)
The 49ers had run 'X Dope' a handful of times this season, but I'd used the wrong terminology. So, a big thank you to Rich Madrid for setting me straight. And if you haven’t, please consider subscribing to his breakdowns.
Purdy motioned Juszczyk into an I formation with the strength to the left. Juszczyk bumped back left and faked it like he was following Banks' block to the left. He then whipped back to the left to lead Samuel around the left end.
Seattle's linebackers flowed with Juszczyk and were lost in the play just as Samuel took possession of the ball.
The play began as '16 Stutter,' which attacks inside to off-tackle weak, but Shanahan had called 'X Dope.' - the end-around complement to '16 Stutter.' Samuel would gain 15 yards on the play.
Week 12: 2nd Quarter – 1 & 10 at the SF 42 (9:10)
I wish I'd started a spreadsheet on how often Shanahan uses particular pass plays. If so, I will bet a few American dollars that 'drift' would probably be near the top of the list.
Shanahan has had 'drift' in his playbook as far back as his time in Washington, if not further. It is a play-action pass that can use nearly any run look. In this case, Shanahan used a gap play action, which resulted in a 22-yard gain.
A 'drift' call using a Stutter or Power run will be a significant gain, especially if the Chiefs have had a steady dose of gap runs.
I also expect to see 'dagger,' a snag concept, and a new look for a Zorro run. These plays are all malleable and can start from vastly different looks to achieve the play's core design.
I'm hopeful Shanahan sticks to his foundational plays on Sunday and adds new looks from those rather than throwing in a series of plays that feel overly aggressive.
But more importantly, I want a Super Bowl victory, and I do not care how it happens.
All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
All videos and images courtesy of NFL.com.