Trent Williams’ Return Offers Reason For Optimism

The San Francisco 49ers endured a disappointing offensive showing in their Week 6 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons, but there is reason for optimism they can quickly turn things round, with much of that hope centred around the prospective return of All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams.

Williams has missed the 49ers’ last three games due to a high ankle sprain he suffered in San Francisco’s Week 3 loss to the Denver Broncos.

However, head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed hope that Williams, along with edge rusher Nick Bosa, will return for the 49ers’ Week 7 meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

“A lot better than last week,” Shanahan said, per 49ers.com, on the odds of them playing. “I’m really hoping for it and I think there’s a decent chance.”

Should Williams indeed make his comeback, then going 2-1 without him — with one of those wins against a division opponent in the Los Angeles Rams — can be regarded as an impressive effort by the Niners. However, their showing on offense in his absence in a game most will have expected them to win in Atlanta was a compelling illustration of why he is so important.

For much of the game, the 49ers excelled in pass protection, giving Jimmy Garoppolo time in the pocket to read the field and go through his progressions. When the pass protection failed, however, it was primarily because of the play at the two tackle spots.

The 49ers dealt with adversity at right tackle as Mike McGlinchey suffered a calf contusion. Blake Hance and Daniel Brunskill both took snaps there, with the latter also rotating at right guard with Spencer Burford.

Per Pro Football Focus (h/t Akash Anavarathan), Brunskill allowed four pressures and Hance two. Jaylon Moore again played left tackle, with San Francisco’s third-stringer, in the lineup due to injury to Williams’ primary backup Colton McKivitz, giving up three pressures.

The absence of both starters at tackle stopped a strong effort from the 49ers’ offensive line from being an excellent one. Garoppolo’s display was once again worthy of praise, as he showed poise and accuracy and produced eye-catching deep throws, two of which were dropped with another called back by penalty.

Yet he was also moved off his spot and had throws affected by pressure off the edge. Though the drops by his receivers played a more critical role in the 28-14 defeat and the Niners’ failure to score a second-half point, Garoppolo might have had a better chance of helping his team keep up with the Falcons as San Francisco’s banged-up defense struggled.

Keeping up with the Chiefs figures to be a difficult challenge for the 49er offense, though Bosa’s possible return will boost confidence that a defense that leads the league in Expected Points Added per play — per rbsdm.com — can contain Patrick Mahomes and Co. in the same way the Buffalo Bills did in Week 6.

But with Garoppolo looking ever more comfortable at quarterback and the 49ers not short of dynamic offensive weapons, there is reason to believe the San Francisco offense can soon produce an explosive and efficient performance with both of their starting tackles in the lineup given the high level of play from the interior of the offensive line.

McGlinchey is day to day with his calf issue and having the Niners’ 2018 first-round pick and Williams available would not only bolster San Francisco’s pass protection, but also a run game that has found efficiency tough to come by this season. The 49ers are 25th in Football Outsiders DVOA in rushing offense.

San Francisco’s offensive let down in Atlanta was not one that should prompt panic. It was the result of a failure of execution from receivers on a pair of would-be touchdowns and a failure in pass protection from replacement-level players at tackle.

Help is on the way in the latter regard, and while it’s debatable whether it will be enough to knock off the Chiefs, Williams’ return should see the 49er attack become a much more productive one in the coming weeks.