Niner Nate-tion: How much damage will Josh Allen do on the ground?

Superman hates Kryptonite. Tigers hate cinnamon. And the 49ers hate mobile quarterbacks. Since the start of 2019, San Francisco has been repeatedly gouged by quarterbacks using their legs rather than their arm to move the ball down field. In six games against mobile QBs last year, the Niners allowed about 6.5 YPC and two touchdowns. In six games this year against mobile quarterbacks, the Niners have again surrendered more than 6 yards per carry and two touchdowns.

In today’s Bills preview podcast, Niner Nate, Leo Luna, and guest Jason Aponte looked at whether Josh Allen could do the same to Robert Saleh’s defense tonight on Monday Night Football.

“The guy has been on the injury report all week with an ankle and a knee, and he walked off last Sunday with a full on knee brace,” Luna said, “I don’t know how mobile he’s actually going to be in this game. He may try it once and say, ‘Yo, fam, I’m hurt.’ He may not be the same Josh Allen that we’re used to seeing and the 49ers may luck out that way.”

It would be a welcome change for the injury situation to work out in San Francisco’s favor for once this season. That said, the ankle/knee may limit the designed runs for Allen, but he may still look to run if things break down.

“Where he’s doing more of his damage is not the designed runs, it’s the off-script runs. Those are the ones that concern me more than any sort of RPO,” Aponte said, “I think it’s those off-script plays when you lose contain and guys can’t cover for four or five seconds down the field. He has the arm talent to make plays. It’s the off-script plays that really scare me more more than the designed runs or RPOs.”

For more of a deep dive into the game tonight, listen to today’s Niner Nate-tion Podcast with Leo Luna, waiting for you here on this page and everywhere you get your podcasts.

Other topics:

-Where the 49ers stand in the NFC playoff picture

-How the 49ers will attack with Deebo Samuel and Raheem Mostert

-Who matches up with Cole Beasley in the slot if Emmanuel Moseley can’t go or is ineffective

-Game and score predictions

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