San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle suggested a nickname for himself and fullback Kyle Juszczyk in their effort to improve the rushing attack for Christian McCaffrey and Kaelon Black.
"It's called 'Dash Bros,'" Kittle said Thursday, via the Sacramento Bee.
The nickname -- a slight play on the 2020 49ers nickname "YAC Bros" -- is a recognition to the pre-snap "Dash" motion that the Niners employed with great aplomb in the Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Rams. The specific motion involves Kittle or Juszczyk moving into the backfield from the line of scrimmage before changing his angle or direction right before the snap.
The motion makes life difficult for defenders.
"They're not my favorite, but they're very effective," Kittle said. "So I just put my pride aside and just do them. ... I just don't like cutting and running that much. I like lining up and hitting people in the face. That's kind of what I do."
The 49ers pre-snap-motioned the Rams to death in Week 1, using motions (of all varieties) on 22 of their 24 designed runs, per Next Gen Stats, averaging 6.1 yards per carry on those plays.
In Week 2, the "Dash Bros" will face a Dolphins defense that held the Las Vegas Raiders to 4.1 yards per carry on designed runs in Week 1 (below the league average of 4.4 yards per carry). That number dropped to 3.8 yards per carry when the Raiders used motion pre-snap.
The Dolphins allowed a 42.2% rushing success rate in Week 1, while the 49ers offense posted the league's highest rushing success rate on designed runs (52.0%).
Miami and San Francisco kick off from Levi's Stadium on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.
