When San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan goes to call a play, his biggest challenge isn't dialing up a play to get a first down. He can do that pretty easily. His concern is finding enough touches for all of his superstars.
Even on Thursday night when the 49ers were without receiver Brandon Aiyuk, the NFC's offensive player of the week in the season opener, it's not like they were lacking. George Kittle is one of the NFL's best tight ends. Deebo Samuel was an All-Pro a couple seasons ago. Christian McCaffrey scored in his 12th straight game including playoffs on Thursday night, tying a team record set by some old timer named Jerry Rice. Some of San Francisco's backups could start for other teams.
There are some teams who would love to have one alpha playmaker who could run through multiple defenders for bunches of extra yards. When Aiyuk is healthy, the 49ers have four of those players.On the other side of the ball, the Giants missed Saquon Barkley. They struggled for any consistent offense without Barkley, who was out with an ankle injury. Score another one for valuing running backs.
With or without Barkley, the Giants might not have moved it much. They battled to stay in the game but the 49ers defense is tough. That's part of what makes them an elite team and a Super Bowl contender. There will be days when all the praise goes to them. Shanahan is one of the game's best playcallers and everyone seems to get their turn. Kittle had his biggest game of the season with 90 yards. Samuel wowed everyone breaking tackles in the open field on his way to 129 yards. The 49ers also have arguably the greatest offensive tackle ever, Trent Williams, and he rarely gets mentioned in these discussions because of all the other stars.
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