The 49ers' hopes of a Week 8 bounce back may rest on Trent Williams' ankle
It's often tough to know where to attribute credit for the success of the San Francisco 49ers' offense because of the massive influence of the play-calling head coach and the sheer level of skill-position talent at the Niners' disposal. Kyle Shanahan and the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle have […]
It's often tough to know where to attribute credit for the success of the San Francisco 49ers' offense because of the massive influence of the play-calling head coach and the sheer level of skill-position talent at the Niners' disposal.
Kyle Shanahan and the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle have a huge role in setting the quarterback up for success, but Monday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings provided an illustration of how the difficulty level for the 49ers' star-studded attack is ratcheted up when San Francisco does not have Trent Williams available.
Williams missed the Niners' second successive defeat with an ankle injury and it is still far from clear whether he will be healthy enough to play when San Francisco welcomes the Cincinnati Bengals to Levi's Stadium for a huge Week 8 clash on Sunday.
The All-Pro, deservedly regarded as the premier left tackle in the game, is listed as questionable after returning to practice in a very limited capacity on Friday. He looks likely to be a game-time decision.
A future Hall of Famer voted to the Pro Bowl 10 times in his illustrious career, that the 49ers need Williams back in the lineup is an obvious statement to make. However, even though the Niners still moved the ball relatively well against the Vikings, their second straight upset loss served as a reflection of his value to their high-powered attack and demonstrated why getting Williams back in the lineup would be such a substantial boost in a testing encounter with the Bengals.
San Francisco averaged 6.1 yards per play against the Vikings and, prior to the two interceptions he threw after sustaining a concussion, which he appeared to suffer on a fourth-quarter QB sneak, Brock Purdy had produced another extremely accomplished performance.
But it was a display delivered while consistently under heavy fire. The pressure he faced was not concentrated to the side of Williams' stand-in Jaylon Moore. However, the impact of Williams' absence came to the fore early in the fourth quarter on a manageable third down.
Both Moore and right tackle Colton McKivitz, who allowed six pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, were walked back towards Purdy as they were each unable to anchor against bull rushes. Purdy was forced to leave the pocket and heave a desperate off-balance throw towards Brandon Aiyuk, who wasn't quite able to pluck it out of the air before it hit the ground.
Had Purdy been afforded more time, he might have at least been able to find Kyle Juszczyk or Jauan Jennings underneath with room to run or perhaps hit Aiyuk or George Kittle downfield for explosive gains. As it was, the 49ers had to settle for a long field goal rather than keeping alive a drive for a potential game-tying touchdown.
Though the pass game suffered in that instance, it was in the ground game where the effects of Williams' injury were most obvious.
San Francisco finished with just 65 yards on the ground, the Niners having little answer to Minnesota's six-man fronts, their problems in that regard exacerbated by not having Williams at their disposal.
Per PFF, the 49ers had six rushes in the direction of left end or left tackle, they went for a total of seven yards.
The Niners only average 3.9 yards per carry on those rushes this season, but their issues running to that side still obviously represented a massive drop-off from their usual production. Five of the 49ers' explosive rushes this season have come on runs to the left end, along with three touchdowns.
Against a Bengals run defense ranked 26th in Expected Points Added per play, the 49ers should have more success on the ground than they enjoyed in Week 7.
Still, that primetime upset served as an unwelcome reminder of just how important Williams is to the 49ers' efficiency in both aspects of their offense. Purdy can operate very well under severe pressure, but the offense naturally works best when he has time to survey and pick apart defenses, while the run game is much more devastating when they can get Williams out in space enabling Christian McCaffrey to get around the edge.
There's a case to be made that, in terms of jenga pieces on the 49er offense, Williams is the most important. They can't afford to be without him down the stretch if they are to contend for the number one seed, and the odds of the offense performing at a standard good enough to beat the Bengals may well rest on him being able to return as San Francisco aims to stop a two-game losing streak.
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