49ers Kyle Shanahan praised this key aspect of the Patriots offense

Whether entirely genuine or a little bit of extra praise on game week, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan had plenty of positive takeaways for Alex Van Pelt and one specific aspect of the Patriots offense.

Shanahan spoke about New England’s offense on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “49ers Game Plan.” He noted that the Patriots should have two wins on the season already, and credits Van Pelt and the Patriots run game for that offensive success.

“Alex [Van Pelt] has been doing it for a while, does a really good job,” Shanahan said. “In these three games, especially their first two games, they’re playing to their personnel very well. They got two very good running backs, they’re committing to the run.”

Shanahan noted that New England just “had a couple mistakes there at the end” that allowed the Seattle Seahawks to come away with an overtime victory in Week 2.

The 49ers are hovering just above average in terms of run defense, but have a lot of star power up front, led by Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Leonard Floyd. They’ll provide a tough challenge for New England’s run game, especially with an increasingly hobbled offensive line.

San Francisco is No. 9 in the NFL in rushing yards allowed, and tied for 17th in the league in yards per carry allowed, per NFL.com’s statistics. The Patriots’ rushing statistics are a mixed bag. Through three weeks, they’re top-10 in total rushing yards, but bottom-10 in yards per carry. Still, the continued commitment to the ground game has proven to work, as long as New England can keep games close.

Shanahan also seemed to voice confidence for Jacoby Brissett in his role leading this version of New England.

“They got a formula to win,” Shanahan said. “They got the right quarterback to tie with that, the right running back and definitely the right defense and special teams to balance that out.”

The Patriots will square off against the 49ers in San Fransisco on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m. Eastern Time.