Injury To 49ers’ Elijah Mitchell An Underrated Subplot In NFC Championship Game

The San Francisco 49ers’ running game will likely be critical if they are to prevail in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game with the Philadelphia Eagles, but one of the key members of that ground attack heads into the game with his status still in doubt.

Niners running back Elijah Mitchell did not practice with the team this week as they prepared for the formidable challenge posted by the Eagles, the former sixth-round pick listed as a DNP all week because of a groin injury.

Kyle Shanahan, per 95.7 The Game, said on Friday that Mitchell did individual work prior to the section of practice that was open to the media.

Mitchell was officially listed as questionable by the 49ers, head coach Shanahan having maintained all week that he expected him to play.

After finishing as the 49ers’ leading rusher in his rookie year, injuries and San Francisco’s midseason trade for Christian McCaffrey have limited Mitchell’s production in his second season.

McCaffrey, who was cleared to play against the Eagles having dealt with a calf bruise this week, is arguably the most important player on the 49er offense because of his explosive running ability and the flexibility he creates in the passing game with his receiving upside.

But, when healthy, Mitchell has also proven crucial for the 49er offense, and he was decisive last week in the Divisional round win over the Dallas Cowboys.

With McCaffrey nursing his calf issue, Mitchell was the man the 49ers leaned on to close out a 19-12 triumph as San Francisco deviated from a outside zone run game that Dallas had done an excellent job of taking away, instead going with a more direct approach in the second half with inside zone and gap scheme runs featuring prominently.

Mitchell thrived in the closing stages against a tiring Cowboys defense, his stat line of 51 yards on 14 carries not properly illustrating the impact he had down the stretch. His 13-yard run late in the fourth quarter would have allowed the 49ers to clinch victory earlier had he not mistakenly gone out of bounds and stopped the clock.

McCaffrey will get the bulk of the workload at running back but, in a week where the former Carolina Panther has not been 100 percent, it is imperative the 49ers have a player they can trust to alleviate some of the strain on his shoulders and keep the ground game going against an Eagles defense that figures to be vulnerable to it. The Eagles rank 21st in the NFL by Football Outsiders DVOA in run defense.

Though the 49ers have received decent production from rookie Jordan Mason, Mitchell is the back outside of McCaffrey in whom they have the most trust and one they can have confidence in exploiting the primary weakness of an Eagles defense that has few holes.

His often violent running style would also be an asset in a game in which the physicality levels are likely to be extremely high, with Shanahan — per Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle — explaining why Mitchelll’s teammates call him ‘the trash man’.

“When he’s out there, it sounds like trash cans are banging around in an alley,” Shanahan said. “He likes to run into people violently when he doesn’t have a place to go. And that’s what makes him a special back.”

The 49ers don’t necessarily need Mitchell given their run game has prospered following the acquisition of the man who has usurped him as the starting running back.

But his ability to bang trash cans together late in the game could help San Francisco wear down the Eagles and give them a decisive edge in a potential close game. McCaffrey is the star, but for a San Francisco offense that may find more joy on the ground than through the air on Sunday, Mitchell’s availability and physical condition is an underrated subplot in a fascinating matchup.