Through two games as the San Francisco 49ers’ starting running back in place of the injured Christian McCaffrey , Jordan Mason has 247 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He is second in the NFL in rushing, having racked up the most yards for a back in his first two career starts for the 49ers in franchise history.
Averaging 5.1 yards per carry, Mason continues to thrive with hugely impressive decisiveness and burst, along with an innate ability to evade and go through defenders to pick up yards after contact. Were he to play the entire year and keep up this incredible pace, Mason would end the campaign with over 2,000 yards rushing.
And yet there is clearly some reason to be concerned about the 49ers’ situation at running back despite his remarkable start to 2024.
The passing game problem
As Brock Purdy often struggled to deal with the complexities of Brian Flores’ ultra-aggressive defense in the 49ers’ Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, it was obvious San Francisco desperately lacked the passing game outlet McCaffrey has provided since his trade from the Carolina Panthers in 2022.