NASHVILLE – It was a much needed changeup to the 49ers offensive attack.
Zone-read runs out of the pistol formation led to a big offensive performance in San Francisco's 31-17 win over the Tennessee Titans.
Colin Kaepernick stole the show with a 20-yard touchdown. The 49ers quarterback finished with 68 yards on 11 carries. It was Kaepernick's perimeter running on the zone-read plays that also opened up perimeter plays for his wide receivers.
PHOTOS: 49ERS VS. TITANS
Anquan Boldin, who led the 49ers with five catches for 74 yards, felt like the pistol scheme helped create one-on-one matchups on the outside.
"It makes defenses declare," Boldin said of the quarterback-driven runs. "Are you going to be bring an eighth guy down in the box to stop the run or are you going to stay with seven guys? It definitely clears things up for us. It allows us to throw the ball outside as well."
Kaepernick finished the game completing 13 of 21 passes for 199 yards.
With Tennessee's attention on Kaepernick and running back Frank Gore (24 carries for 70 yards), Boldin won his individual
matchups. Boldin also hauled in some eye-catching receptions, including a one-handed grab in front of the 49ers sidelines.
Boldin praised his quarterback for helping him make the highlight-worthy receptions.
The 11-year veteran beat his man down the right sideline to catch a 25-yard ball from Kaepernick, but it was the pre-snap read and decision from Kaepernick that made the play really work. "It was a check we had," Boldin said. "We saw some things on film that we could take advantage of, that was one of the plays we had. They went man across and I was able to get free. 'Kap ' threw a great ball. " Boldin, San Francisco's leading wideout on the season with 34 catches for 495 yards and two touchdowns, went on to compliment Kaepernick's intelligence in helping the 49ers soundly defeat the Titans.
Kaepernick was often given two plays at the line of scrimmage and was able to call the correct play based on Tennessee's defensive look. The 49ers signal-caller also made good use of his ability to audible at the line of scrimmage.
In seven games together, Boldin continues to find new reasons to rave about his quarterback.
"He brings a different skill set as a quarterback," Boldin said. "He does a lot of different things quarterbacks can't do. I don't think he gets a lot of credit for how good of a quarterback he is. He can throw it with the best of them. He can make any throw on the field. And when things break down, that's when you can really see how special he is."
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