signed the past two offseasons to injuries did little to slow down the 49ers ground game.A trio of undrafted free agents is making sure the Niners don't miss a beat.Matt Breida Baker Mayfield Color Rush Jersey , Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. combined for San Francisco's sixth most productive rushing day of the past decade last week in Cincinnati, leading the team to 259 yards on the ground and two touchdowns and creating the threat that fueled the play-action passing game from Jimmy Garoppolo.It was an impressive performance from three players who entered the league with little notoriety. Breida, Mostert and Wilson all failed to get drafted but are proving they can play now that they've gotten the chance."When you come in the league undrafted, usually you're last on the depth chart and they don't expect you can play," Breida said Wednesday. "You have to prove you can belong in the league."The three are doing just that, making sure the Niners don't miss Jerick McKinnon and Tevin Coleman, who were supposed to be the center pieces of the running game.McKinnon, who signed a four-year, $30 million contract in 2018, has yet to see the field in San Francisco because of a pair of knee injuries that have sent him to injured reserve before the start of the season each year.Coleman signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract this offseason but sprained his ankle in the season opener at Tampa Bay and will be sidelined for at least a few weeks.That opened the door for the cheaper crop of backs to step up and they are making the most of their opportunities."I always look at how much they get that we block for and then they are paid for what they get after. All three of our guys broke a lot of tackles and did a great job," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "If you want one guy to do it all on his own you might have to always go for a top-five pick and you're going to be disappointed until Barry Sanders comes around. I never feel like running the ball with just one guy, it's got to take everyone."Breida is one of four backs to average at least 5.0 yards per carry the past three years with a minimum of 250 attempts, showing the patience to find the hole in San Francisco's zone-running scheme and the speed to break long runs when he gets the chance.Breida has 11 runs of at least 20 yards the past two seasons, trailing only former top 10 picks Saquon Barkley, Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott and second-rounder Nick Chubb.He had 12 carries for 121 yards last week and has been at his best when Shanahan has been able to limit his playing time to make sure he doesn't wear down."He always hits the right hole and that's why he was hard to get off the field last year, even when he wasn't always 100%," Shanahan said. "Breida's also as tough as any running back I've been around, but it's also very important to keep him fresh."That was difficult at times last year but was possible in large part last week because of the emergence of Mostert, a special teams standout who carried the ball only eight times his first three seasons in the NFL. But he showed flashes last season with 28 carries for 250 yards during a four-game stretch that ended when he broke his arm against the Raiders.Mostert is healthy again and off to a good start this year with 22 carries for 123 yards the first two weeks, to go along with a 39-yard TD on a screen pass last week."They didn't really know our abilities," Mostert said of the scouts who overlooked him and Breida. "It was pretty cool, going out there and competing together and doing what we love to do and showing we can play. We were just having fun."Wilson began this season on the practice squad after providing a late-season spark last year. He got called up last week to replace Coleman and showed the toughness to provide two TD runs in the red zone.The success of that running game played a big role in Garoppolo's success last week. He went 10 for 10 for 213 yards and two TDs for a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when using play action against the Bengals https://www.brownsfanshop.com/Emmanuel-Ogbah-Jersey , according to Pro Football Focus."When you rush the ball for 250 yards, that makes everything a lot easier," Garoppolo said. "Those guys up front, selling the run, getting downhill on guys, the defense has to respect the run when you're running it for whatever, 10 yards a carry, something like that. Just all those things coming together."NOTES: DE Dee Ford missed practice with irritation in his quadriceps and is day to day. ... S Jaquiski Tartt (toe), WR Jalen Hurd (back), WR Trent Taylor (ankle) also missed practice and DB Jimmie Ward (finger) was limited. CLEVELAND (AP) — The coach changed. Everything else with the Cleveland Browns stayed the same.Unable to slow Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City’s thrill-a-minute offense, the Browns were soundly beaten — and beaten up — in a 37-21 loss on Sunday in Cleveland’s first game under interim coach Gregg Williams.Mahomes threw two touchdown passes to Cleveland native Travis Kelce and Kareem Hunt, another local kid who drove past FirstEnergy Stadium almost every day, scored three TDs as the Chiefs (8-1) overpowered the banged-up Browns (2-6-1) while sending them to their fourth straight loss.It doesn’t figure to get better anytime soon for Cleveland, which had three more defensive starters get injured.The pain isn’t going away.“We have to keep going — next man up,” defensive end Myles Garrett said. “We have to do the best with what we have.”The loss ended another tumultuous few days for the Browns, whose promising 2-2-1 start has dissolved into more disarray.Still, rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield managed to extract some positives. He passed for 297 yards and two touchdowns.“Offensively, I think there was a lot more good in this game than we had in the past,” said Mayfield, who twice connected with running back Duke Johnson on scores. “There is a lot to build on, but there is obviously so much more room for improvement. When you are playing a team like that, you have to stay in the game.“You have to give yourself chances. You have to do the little things right. You have to chip away, take time off of the clock just because of the offense that they have. There was a lot of good on offense Denzel Ward Jersey , but we just have to keep getting better.”Cleveland’s hopes of staying with the Chiefs took a major hit when defensive backs Damarious Randall (groin), E.J. Gaines (concussion) and Denzel Ward (hip) were sidelined by injuries. Randall was scratched before the kickoff, and after Gaines and Ward went down in the first quarter, linebacker Christian Kirksey (hamstring) got hurt.Stopping the Chiefs with a full roster is tough.Short-handed, it’s impossible.The Browns were already missing Pro Bowl linebacker Joe Schobert, who sat out his third game in a row with a hamstring injury.“The biggest thing that really affected us was that we lost two of our starting corners in the first drive,” cornerback T.J. Carrie said. “That definitely put us in a different situation. We practice with those guys throughout the week, and when those guys go down, it changes the game plan. They are a high-powered offense, and I don’t think we did a good job at all stopping their momentum.”The injuries put more pressure on Williams, who did not relinquish his duties as defensive coordinator after being asked to replace Hue Jackson, who was fired on Monday along with offensive coordinator Todd Haley.The Browns may have been outmanned by the more talented Chiefs, but Williams liked how his players fought through a week full of adversity.“I never saw any flinch,” he said. “Never saw a flinch today. Never saw body language poor today. You have to build on that. This is the National Football League. There are no excuses. You have to continue to get better. You have to. We all have to.”Williams set an early tone for his shell-shocked team with a fourth-down gamble on Cleveland’s first possession. The Browns converted then, but Williams’ choice to go for a 2-point conversion in the second quarter resulted in the Browns chasing points all afternoon.Cleveland went 0 for 3 on conversion tries.Following the game, Mayfield and Mahomes met at mid-field and shared a hug and some words of encouragement. They’ve been friends for years, college rivals and part of the NFL’s next wave of young quarterbacks.While Mahomes appears to have it all — more talented teammates, a stable franchise — right now, Mayfield doesn’t think the Browns have to try to replicate Kansas City’s offense.“What we do is perfectly fine,” he said. “We just have to be better at it. They have guys who are making their plays. Their quarterback is putting it in the right spot. He is giving them a chance to win. We just have to be better. We are not going to abandon ship with what we are doing and try to do the Chiefs offense. We just have to trust our guys, trust our playmakers and do our job.”
