The San Francisco 49ers pulled off a magical overtime win on Thursday Night Football. San Francisco defeated LA 26-23 despite a mountain of offensive injuries. One former NFL player believes that the absence of Deebo Samuel could be hurting San Francisco this season.
Former 49ers safety Donte Whitner made an appearance on Up & Adams with Kay Adams on Friday. Kay asked him what he's been worried about with the 49ers.
“The run game, and it even showed up last night,” Whitner quickly replied. “Christian McCaffrey is only averaging 3.3 yards per carry.”
McCaffrey himself noted that San Francisco needs to improve their running game.
Whitner also observed that the 49ers appear to be missing Deebo Samuel in their running game.
“But then when I analyzed the film, they're missing Deebo Samuel,” Whitner continued. “They don't have another offensive weapon who can create hesitancy in the back-side defenders in the open field. To really stop those defenders from pinning their ears back and playing front-side gaps. It doesn't help the offensive line as well, with positional blocking, because everyone's playing so fast and it's a zone scheme.”
Ultimately, Whitner believes the only solution to that problem is finding another player like Deebo to replace him.
“Until they find another player like Deebo… they'll probably continue to have these issues in the run game,” Whitner warned.
How can the 49ers improve their running game during the 2025 NFL season?
Thursday Night Football showed that Christian McCaffrey alone is not enough to power San Francisco's running game.
McCaffrey had a solid overall game, but his rushing stats were subpar. He had 22 carries and only managed 57 rushing yards.
He explained that the rushing game needs to be a priority moving forward.
“Everybody and their mother wants the running game to get going, but the most important thing is getting the win, and I love playing with these guys and how we’re fighting right now,” McCaffrey said after the game, per The Athletic's Vic Tafur.
Perhaps the 49ers will improve their offense by getting some of their injured players back. They might also try using CMC in a role similar to Deebo Samuel to try and soften up opposing defenses.
Either way, the 49ers have some extra time to rest before their Week 6 matchup against the Buccaneers. Hopefully they find a solution before then.
