Jerome Bettis knows quite well what it takes to effectively run the football.
"The Bus" ran for 13,662 yards over a 13-year NFL career with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Hall of Famer is extremely impressed by what he has seen from the 49ers' rush offense this season.
"Outstanding," Bettis described to NBC Sports Bay Area's Laura Britt on Radio Row in Miami on Thursday. "They do a great job, but also Kyle Shanahan does a great job of putting those guys in position to be great in terms of running the football. So, the offensive line is doing an outstanding job, first of all, and then what they're doing is they're finishing the runs, the receivers are blocking, so he's got everyone believing that it takes all 11 guys on the field to be successful in the running game."
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Only the Baltimore Ravens averaged more rushing yards per game during the regular season than San Francisco's 144.1, and the Niners have been even better in the postseason, where they've averaged 235.5 rushing yards over two playoff games. It has taken a full buy-in from the entire offensive unit, and no one exemplifies that more so than tight end George Kittle. Bettis is a big fan of his.
"It's always great, especially as a running back, because you know he's committed to your success. And [Kittle] wants to do just as great a job blocking as he is catching and receiving the pass. When you have a guy like that, all you want to do is for him to be successful because you know he wants to make sure you're successful."
[RELATED: When 49ers tight ends coach knew Kittle was so special]
Kittle's selflessness was on display in the 49ers' dominating 37-20 win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game in which he received only a single target, but helped the team average 6.8 yards per rush for a total of 285 yards on the ground. San Francisco's rush offense was so effective that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo only attempted eight passes, completing six. Jimmy G received some undeserved criticism for that performance, and Bettis doesn't understand why.
San Francisco 49ers
"I've been impressed with the 49ers in that they have been unapologetically certain about how they are going to run the football, and they're not going to pass the ball if they don't have to," Bettis explained. "Everybody's saying, 'Oh, you need to pass the football.' Why? You don't need to pass the football. If you can run the football and you don't have to put your quarterback in a difficult position where he can get sacked, where he can get injured or the ball can get intercepted, why would you do something like that?
"But when they do have to throw the football, Jimmy Garoppolo is more than capable of getting it done. He has proved that this season. So, I think you've got a great football team, but you've also got a great philosophy that they use."
Bettis is picking the 49ers to prevail in Super Bowl LIV, and their rushing attack is a big reason why. You can watch the full interview with "The Bus" at the top of this article.
Programming note: NBC Sports Bay Area feeds your hunger for 49ers Super Bowl coverage with special editions of “49ers Central” all week (9:30 p.m. Friday, and 3 p.m. Saturday).
Also tune in at 1 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday for a two-hour special of "49ers Pregame Live" with Laura Britt, Donte Whitner, Jeff Garcia, Ian Williams, Kelli Johnson, Greg Papa and Grant Liffmann. That same crew will have all the postgame reaction on "49ers Postgame Live," starting immediately after the game.