The scoreboard said 3-3 when Sincere McCormick found the right sideline. 49ers.com's game takeaways put him on a 37-yard run that moved San Francisco inside the five. He finished that drive with a seven-yard run into the end zone.
That was the first offensive touchdown of a 41-17 preseason win over the Chargers at SoFi Stadium, and it is the Backfield Star file in two snaps.
ESPN's recap and the club box both have McCormick at six carries, 53 yards, one touchdown, long of 37. Nobody else on the 49ers reached 53. Kaelon Black had 33 yards on eight carries.
White had 29 on 12. Khalil Herbert had 17 on four and a one-yard score of his own. The team-high rushing line belonged to the player who needed six attempts to get there.
Tied, then the 37, then the seven
49ers.com's second takeaway is the sequence. Mac Jones was in the game, having taken over after Brock Purdy's opening series. Jones had just helped move the ball.
McCormick took over on the ground. The 37-yard run, which 49ers.com described as a break down the right side, flipped field position and game state at the same time. The seven-yard score that followed gave San Francisco its first lead, 10-3 after the kick.
That is a different night from the one Jacob Cowing had. Cowing's 83-yard punt return made it 17-3 later in the quarter. McCormick's touchdown was the first time the offense put the ball in the end zone.
ESPN's recap lists the 49ers' other offensive scores as Herbert's one-yard plunge, Martinez's nine-yard keeper, and a 17-yard throw to Jordan Watkins. The Backfield Star tag is about who opened that list.
Six carries is a small sample. Fifty-three yards on six carries is 8.8 yards per attempt, and the long of 37 is the reason the average looks like that. Remove the 37-yard run and the remaining five carries still include the touchdown.
Keep the 37 and the night is why San Francisco could lead 20-3 at the half after Pineiro's two field goals and Cowing's return.
A committee, one leader
The 49ers.com box is a true committee card. Black's eight first-quarter carries went for 33 yards. 49ers.com noted two straight runs of eight and nine yards that moved San Francisco across midfield in his preseason debut, his first action after returning to practice earlier in the week.