The 49ers did a remarkably good job of shutting down Dalvin Cook last week, especially in the passing game. He caught 6 passes, but they resulted in only 8 yards. That kind of a ratio is rare.
I was poking around with the search tools at Pro Football Reference. They show that in the Super Bowl era, only four times has a player caught at least 6 passes and averaged fewer yards per reception.
Two of those, oddly, also came in the 2019 season. What are the odds of that? I suppose teams are passing more, making more 6-catch games likely. But it seems that more defenses have a better feel of how to take away a running back in the passing game.
In the Super Bowl era, I see only 54 players who caught at least 6 passes and averaged fewer than 3 yards per reception. That’s an average of once per year. Six of those players came form 2019. Only two seasons had 4 such players (1980, 1995), and only two had 3 (2003, 2018). So only 45 of those players in 52 years, and now 9 in the last two seasons.
| AVERAGING UNDER 3 YARDS PER CATCH | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Year | Opp | Result | No | Yds | Avg | TD |
| • Kenyan Drake, ARI | 2019 | at TAM | L 27-30 | 6 | 6 | 1.00 | 0 |
| Jamaal Charles, KAN | 2013 | at BUF | W 23-13 | 6 | 6 | 1.00 | 0 |
| • Boston Scott, PHI | 2019 | DAL | W 17-9 | 6 | 7 | 1.17 | 0 |
| T.J. Yeldon, JAX | 2016 | at SDG | L 14-38 | 8 | 10 | 1.25 | 0 |
| Dalvin Cook, MIN | 2019 | at SFO | L 10-27 | 6 | 8 | 1.33 | 0 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson, SDG | 2003 | at PIT | L 24-40 | 6 | 8 | 1.33 | 0 |
| Adrian Murrell, NYJ | 1995 | NOR | L 0-12 | 9 | 12 | 1.33 | 0 |
| Jess Phillips, CIN | 1970 | KAN | L 19-27 | 6 | 8 | 1.33 | 0 |
| David Johnson, ARI | 2018 | DET | L 3-17 | 8 | 12 | 1.50 | 0 |
| Eric Dickerson, RAM | 1983 | at WAS | L 7-51 | 6 | 9 | 1.50 | 0 |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 2018 | at NOR | L 35-45 | 6 | 11 | 1.83 | 0 |
| DeAngelo Williams, CAR | 2007 | IND | L 7-31 | 6 | 11 | 1.83 | 0 |
| Chris Perry, CIN | 2005 | PIT | L 17-31 | 6 | 11 | 1.83 | 0 |
| Michael Bennett, MIN | 2005 | at NYG | W 24-21 | 6 | 11 | 1.83 | 0 |
| Mike Pruitt, CLE | 1980 | at CIN | W 27-24 | 6 | 11 | 1.83 | 0 |
| Ty Montgomery, GNB | 2017 | CIN | W 27-24 | 8 | 15 | 1.88 | 0 |
| Justin Forsett, BAL | 2016 | at JAX | W 19-17 | 6 | 12 | 2.00 | 0 |
| Frank Gore, SFO | 2009 | JAX | W 20-3 | 7 | 14 | 2.00 | 1 |
| Bernie Parmalee, MIA | 1995 | at NYJ | L 16-17 | 6 | 12 | 2.00 | 0 |
| Emmitt Smith, DAL | 1995 | at MIN | W 23-17 | 6 | 12 | 2.00 | 0 |
| Norm Bulaich, MIA | 1976 | KAN | L 17-20 | 6 | 12 | 2.00 | 0 |
| • Tarik Cohen, CHI | 2019 | NOR | L 25-36 | 9 | 19 | 2.11 | 0 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson, SDG | 2003 | OAK | W 21-14 | 8 | 17 | 2.13 | 0 |
| • Kenyan Drake, ARI | 2019 | at SFO | L 26-36 | 6 | 13 | 2.17 | 0 |
| Harold Green, CIN | 1995 | CHI | W 16-10 | 6 | 13 | 2.17 | 0 |
| Albert Bentley, IND | 1989 | CLE | W 23-17 | 6 | 13 | 2.17 | 0 |
| Franco Harris, PIT | 1976 | at CLE | L 16-18 | 6 | 13 | 2.17 | 0 |
| Tarik Cohen, CHI | 2017 | at MIN | L 10-23 | 6 | 14 | 2.33 | 0 |
| Glyn Milburn, DEN | 1994 | ATL | W 32-28 | 6 | 14 | 2.33 | 0 |
| Clinton Portis, WAS | 2004 | GNB | L 14-28 | 7 | 17 | 2.43 | 0 |
| James Jones, OAK | 2014 | DEN | L 17-41 | 8 | 20 | 2.50 | 0 |
| Raymont Harris, CHI | 1997 | MIN | L 24-27 | 6 | 15 | 2.50 | 0 |
| Tony Galbreath, NOR | 1978 | HOU | L 12-17 | 7 | 18 | 2.57 | 0 |
| Gerry Ellis, GNB | 1980 | TAM | L 17-20 | 8 | 21 | 2.63 | 0 |
| Javon Ringer, TEN | 2011 | at PIT | L 17-38 | 6 | 16 | 2.67 | 0 |
| Emmitt Smith, DAL | 1996 | GNB | W 21-6 | 6 | 16 | 2.67 | 0 |
| Anthony Toney, PHI | 1987 | at NYG | L 20-23 | 6 | 16 | 2.67 | 0 |
| Paul Coffman, GNB | 1982 | at NYJ | L 13-15 | 6 | 16 | 2.67 | 0 |
| Charles Alexander, CIN | 1980 | at OAK | L 17-28 | 6 | 16 | 2.67 | 0 |
| Tony Galbreath, NOR | 1979 | NYG | W 24-14 | 6 | 16 | 2.67 | 0 |
| Rickey Young, MIN | 1978 | TAM | L 10-16 | 6 | 16 | 2.67 | 0 |
| Keith Byars, PHI | 1991 | at HOU | W 13-6 | 7 | 19 | 2.71 | 0 |
| Dalvin Cook, MIN | 2018 | at NWE | L 10-24 | 8 | 22 | 2.75 | 0 |
| • Mike Davis, CHI | 2019 | GNB | L 3-10 | 6 | 17 | 2.83 | 0 |
| Earnest Graham, TAM | 2007 | TEN | W 13-10 | 6 | 17 | 2.83 | 0 |
| Barry Sanders, DET | 1998 | ARI | L 15-17 | 6 | 17 | 2.83 | 0 |
| Terrell Davis, DEN | 1997 | SEA | W 30-27 | 6 | 17 | 2.83 | 0 |
| Wilbert Montgomery, PHI | 1980 | at MIN | W 42-7 | 6 | 17 | 2.83 | 0 |
| Dave Kopay, WAS | 1970 | at DAL | L 0-34 | 6 | 17 | 2.83 | 0 |
| Ken Willard, SFO | 1966 | BAL | L 14-30 | 6 | 17 | 2.83 | 0 |
| Richie Anderson, DAL | 2003 | at CAR | L 10-29 | 7 | 20 | 2.86 | 0 |
| Adrian Murrell, ARI | 1999 | WAS | L 10-24 | 7 | 20 | 2.86 | 0 |
| Matt Forte, CHI | 2014 | at MIN | L 9-13 | 8 | 23 | 2.88 | 0 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson, SDG | 2002 | at KAN | L 22-24 | 9 | 26 | 2.89 | 0 |
The 49ers are back in action today, and defending pass-catching running backs will be a factor. Green Bay likes to use the dumpoff pass in its offense. Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams in the regular season combined to catch 88 passes for 727 yards and 8 TDs. That’s an unusually high number of touchdown catches for running backs.
But the 49ers have been effectively against pass-catching running backs. Not just last week, but for the entire season. They’re one of only two teams that didn’t allow a touchdown pass to a running back all year.
Opposing running backs this year caught 62 passes for 398 yards against the 49ers. That’s on 85 attempts. Only two defenses allowed fewer completions to running backs, and only one allowed fewer yards (Carolina, which was allowing teams to run the ball down it’s throats). San Francisco allowed 4.7 yards per pass play against backs, 2nd-best in the league.
In this type of deal, I like to look at comps, seeing how the defense performed against similar kinds of backs. In my eyes, San Francisco played against good pass catching backs five times. There was Cook last week; they passed that test. Christian McCaffrey caught 4 passes for 38 yards against them – way below his usual numbers. There was that high-scoring shootout in the Superdome; Alvin Kamara caught 4 passes for only 18 yards in that game. And Devonta Freeman caught only 2 passes for 16 yards at San Francisco in December.
Green Bay played at Santa Clara earlier in the year, of course. Jones on that was saw only 1 pass attempt, and it fell incomplete. Williams caught 7 of the 8 balls thrown his way, but they went for only 35 yards – lots of catches, but not much actual production.
I don’t expect to see many plays today where the Packers are able to scheme Jones or Williams into being wide open for big receptions.
—Ian Allan