The San Francisco 49ers perfectly executed a play action pass against the Baltimore Ravens. Mark Schofield demonstrates how Colin Kaepernick hit Torrey Smith for a huge play.
Both Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin got a chance to play against their old team when the San Francisco 49ers hosted the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Boldin hauled in 5 passes for 102 yards, while Smith caught three balls for 96 yards. Whatsmore, the two players took particular joy in this play: a long scoring strike to Smith.
Early in the second quarter, the 49ers face a 2nd and 6 on their own 24-yard line. They line up with 12 offensive personnel on the field with quarterback Colin Kaepernick under center and a 2X2 alignment on the field. The Ravens expect run and have their base 3-4 defense in the game with nine defenders in the box:
The offense uses a max protection scheme here, working off of playaction:
After the snap, Kaepernick reverse pivots, opening up to his left before turning around to fake a handoff to Carlos Hyde heading to the right edge. The offense sends only two receivers out into patterns. From the backside, Boldin runs a deep crossing route. Playside, Smith runs a double-move, breaking off on a deep route before then cutting upfield vertically.
Without anyone to help him, cornerback Jimmy Smith (#22) gets into trouble when he bites the slightest bit on the out route:
As Smith fakes the cut to the outside, the defensive back initiates contact and drives his body between the WR and the quarterback. This allows the receiver to cut back on the vertical and gain separation from the coverage. From there, it is just a matter of Kaepernick delivering the football.
He does:
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Smith pulls in the pass and takes this play the distance for the longest play from scrimmage on the season for the 49ers. When the rest of the team is able to catch up with him, who do you think is first:
The long passing play extended the 49ers lead to 13-6 on their way to a 25-20 victory. But on this play, the San Francisco offense showed the potential of what could be when the right play is called and executed perfectly by the players on the field.
Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkSchofield.