NFL Preseason 2018: Winners and losers from Week 3
Winner: Alfred Morris, 49ers offense
Upon his arrival, everyone was calling for San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan to start Jimmy Garoppolo. It ultimately took a bit for that to actually take shape, but when he did take the helm of the offense, the hype started to get out of control. Jimmy G won every game that he started for the Niners last season. And as general manager John Lynch continued the rebuild this offseason, that meant that the expectations would only continue to grow.
Having said that, the 49ers haven’t had the smoothest of roads through the offseason and training camp to this point. Most pointedly, they’ve struggled in terms of keeping their running backs healthy. Both free-agent acquisition Jerick McKinnon and second-year back Matt Breida have been banged up throughout the preseason, which ultimately led to them signing Alfred Morris heading into Week 3 of the preseason.
Morris seemed to take right to playing for Shanahan — his former offensive coordinator with the Redskins — in San Francisco. The veteran shouldered the bulk of the load this week in the Niners’ run game and was effective in doing so. He carried the ball 17 times for 84 yards on the afternoon.
Next. NFL Power Rankings 2018: Preseason Week 3 in the books. dark
Not only is this a win for Morris as he looks for a job — be it with San Fran or elsewhere — but for the 49ers offense as well. Morris and the passing game both looked quite effective when the starters were on the field and that’s what this team needs. Shanahan has been billed as an offensive genius and a performance like this helps to make that seem like it’s the case.