The quintessential San Francisco 49ers ahead cross travels roughly 15 ft by means of the air. It may be thrown by the rookie quarterback Brock Purdy to targets like Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey or George Kittle, who then dodge, weave, dash or steam roll by means of defenders to rework what appeared like a meager 5-yard cross right into a spotlight.
The 49ers have lengthy been infamous for relying upon brief tosses to speedy but burly receivers to maximise yards after the catch, or YAC. The 49ers led the N.F.L. in YAC per reception in 2019 (6.6), 2020 (6.2) and 2021 (6.5). They tied the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and Carolina Panthers for the league lead with 6.6 YAC per reception within the 2022 common season.
That’s proper: Kansas Metropolis, whereas nonetheless an aerial circus, additionally depends closely on yards after the catch to complement its offense. So do the Philadelphia Eagles, who completed tied for fifth within the N.F.L. with 5.8 YAC per reception. Even the Cincinnati Bengals, whose signature play stays a moon launch from Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase, completed tied for eleventh within the league with 5.2 YAC per reception.
All 4 groups that reached their convention’s championship recreation counted as a lot or extra on their playmakers to generate passing yardage as they did upon the fastball-hurling heroics of their quarterbacks. But there may be a lot a couple of option to spin some YAC.
The 49ers’ offense, initially constructed for the unassuming Jimmy Garoppolo, is nearly customized tailor-made to the wants of an inexperienced passer like Purdy.
Samuel is a receiver with the strikes and energy of a operating again; McCaffrey a operating again with a receiver’s velocity and arms; and Kittle a decent finish with the traits of a Marvel superhero. No protection is provided to cowl three receivers with such various ability units, and Coach Kyle Shanahan clumps them into unpredictable configurations then sends them into sudden patches of the sector seeking mismatches. Purdy performs extra like some extent guard than a quarterback, shelling out dimes after which watching the drives and dunks.
As soon as Purdy’s tosses attain their targets, the juking and trucking begins. Damaged and eluded tackles are an unofficial stat, however per Sports activities Information Options, Samuel broke or eluded 27 tackles on receptions, the best determine within the N.F.L. amongst receivers, regardless of lacking 4 video games with accidents. McCaffrey broke or eluded 13 tackles after becoming a member of the 49ers by way of a commerce from the Panthers in October. Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers’ deep risk, added 16 damaged or eluded tackles, whereas Kittle pitched in 12.
Because of all of the evasive maneuvers, the standard 49ers completion traveled simply 5.4 yards downfield by means of the air, tied for the ninth-lowest determine within the league, however resulted in a 12.0 yard achieve, the league’s fifth-highest common.
Patrick Mahomes hardly requires coaching wheels to function Kansas Metropolis’s offense. When Kansas Metropolis traded the All-Professional deep risk Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins earlier than the season, nevertheless, Mahomes and the crew downshifted right into a shorter passing assault constructed round Travis Kelce, who led all tight ends with 24 damaged or eluded tackles within the common season and caught 14 passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns in final week’s 27-20 divisional-round victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On the uncommon events Kelce just isn’t open, Mahomes typically jettisons brief lobs to operating again Jerick McKinnon, whose 9.7 YAC per reception ranked third within the N.F.L. Kansas Metropolis’s recreation plans are additionally loaded with shovel passes and different glorified handoffs designed to ship the ball to Kelce (5.9 YAC per reception) or speedsters like Kadarius Toney (7.3), who was acquired in a midseason take care of the Giants.
Mahomes sprained his proper ankle towards the Jaguars, limiting his mobility and skill to plant his foot to throw downfield. He’s anticipated to play towards the Bengals within the A.F.C. championship recreation Sunday; if he can not, the backup Chad Henne (basically an assistant coach in pads and a helmet) will get the beginning. Both means, Kansas Metropolis will most likely rely closely on its YAC recreation.
For pass-catchers like Samuel and Kelce, yards after catch sometimes contain a slalom by means of rush-hour visitors. The Eagles’ A.J. Brown, nevertheless, generates a lot of his YAC on leisurely jogs into the tip zone after torching a defender on a deep catch. Brown produced 152 yards after catch on passes that traveled 20 yards by means of the air to succeed in him, the best determine within the league.
Not all the Eagles’ yards after catch come on glorified victory laps, nevertheless. Because the Giants discovered their 38-7 loss to the Eagles on Saturday, Philadelphia Coach Nick Sirianni likes to scatter his receivers close to the sideline so Jalen Hurts can fling fast screens instantly after the snap. By the point defenders sift by means of all of the blocking and braiding, tight finish Dallas Goedert (7.6 YAC per reception) or receiver DeVonta Smith (5.2) may already be ultimately zone.
A powerful downfield passing recreation can pressure the opposing protection to play on its heels, which creates plenty of open area for catch-and-run alternatives in the course of the sector. Kansas Metropolis and Philadelphia use such techniques successfully, however Cincinnati excels at punishing opponents who line their safeties up within the stadium car parking zone to cease the deep threats Chase, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins.
Bengals operating backs Joe Mixon (7.8 YAC per reception) and Samaje Perine (8.4) typically leak out of the backfield for brief Burrow lobs when defenses are preoccupied elsewhere. Chase himself generally evades defenders after catching fast screens (16 damaged or eluded tackles in simply 12 video games) or threatens them with what appears to be like like a deep route, then turns to snag a brief catch earlier than strolling by means of the open countryside as they stumble backward. All of these brief jabs inevitably set opponents up for a deep haymaker.
A passing recreation constructed round fast throws neutralizes the opponent’s cross rush: dangerous information for the Eagles’ protection, which led the league with 70 regular-season sacks and hopes to stress Purdy into making errors. A YAC-focused offense additionally forces defenders to make troublesome open-field tackles, spelling bother for Kansas Metropolis, which missed 82 regular-season tackles, tied for sixth most within the N.F.L.
Whereas the opposite remaining Tremendous Bowl contenders have loved success after the catch this 12 months, Shanahan’s 49ers stay the consultants at forcing tiny cornerbacks to tangle with the likes of Samuel, making sluggish linebackers chase McCaffrey and Kittle and guaranteeing different defenders do the issues they aren’t superb at. If the 49ers lastly win a Tremendous Bowl utilizing their YAC techniques, the message must be clear for the N.F.L.’s rebuilding franchises: Flood the sector with versatile ballhandlers, be inventive, and don’t be afraid to take the ball out of the quarterback’s arms a bit extra typically.
Realizing the N.F.L., nevertheless, these franchises would extra doubtless come away from a 49ers championship pondering, “let’s do no matter it takes to seek out the following Brock Purdy.”
