San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan answers questions during Opening Night for the NFL Super Bowl 54 football game Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, at Marlins Park in Miami. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Green Bay, Wisconsin – Will the Green Bay Packers be able to meet the several hurdles posed by the San Francisco 49ers in Saturday’s NFC Divisional playoff game, or will they be tackling dummies? The missed tackle statistics are staggering. According to Professional Football Focus:
– 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey caused 60 missed tackles. Green Bay’s running backs together forced 57. McCaffrey, who second only Jacksonville’s Travis Etienne (64) in missed tackles, gained more yards after contact (929) than Aaron Jones’ total rushing yards (649) this season. – 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel caused 25 missed tackles. Green Bay’s receivers collectively forced 19. Samuel finished second in the NFL, after Miami’s Tyreek Hill (26).
– 49ers tight end George Kittle caused 15 missed tackles. Green Bay’s tight ends together forced nine. Kittle, the only tight end in the NFL with 1,000 receiving yards, ranked sixth among tight ends in missed tackles. The 49ers’ skill-position players’ ability to run after the catch is a big reason why quarterback Brock Purdy topped the NFL in yards per attempt with a record high 9.64. In fact, he had a league-leading 6.6 YAC per completion. That’s roughly a yard and a half more than Jordan Love received.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Christian, Deebo, George, (Brandon) Aiyuk, all these guys are really incredible after the catch, breaking tackles, getting those YAC yards,” Joe Barry, the team’s defensive coordinator, said. “I think that’s a huge part of us playing well this week is that we’re going to have tackle really well and limit the YAC after the catch.”
According to SportRadar, the Packers ended 16th in defensive efficiency, with an 8.7 percent missed tackle rate. This is exactly the league average. “I think our tackling’s been at times very inconsistent,” Mr. Barry remarked. “When you look at a defense, regardless of the time of year, if they go out on Sunday and play well, they usually tackle well. And vice versa when they don’t.
McCaffrey, in particular, may cause problems for the Packers. He will enter training camp fresh after not playing in Week 18 and recovering during the bye week.
“I believe he’s geared up and ready to go, just as he was last year,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said this week. “Probably the same way he was in his playoff game when he was five years old, or in a scrimmage that week.” Christian is always the same. He’s constantly waiting for that moment, and he’s been waiting for this one for quite some time.
Defensively, the 49ers had the second-best missed-tackle rate in the NFL, trailing only the Dallas Cowboys (5.7 percent). Jones was responsible for four of the Packers’ six misses against the Cowboys.
