MELBOURNE, Australia -- More than halfway through the second quarter of Thursday's win over the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers center Jake Brendel could feel things turning in his team's direction. The Niners were midway through an 86-yard scoring drive, and rookie running back Kaelon Black had just ripped off gains of 9 and 5 yards. From midfield, Brendel turned toward coach Kyle Shanahan on the sideline and waved his arms to suggest he wanted to run the ball, run it again and keep running it until the Rams showed they could at least slow it down.

Shanahan apparently agreed. The success of those plays only yielded more runs, and by the end of San Francisco's 27-7 win, it had 30 attempts for a robust 5.8 yards per rush. That would've been the team's second-best outing for the 2025 season. Perhaps more important was how the 49ers got back to their bread and butter. Since trading for Christian McCaffrey in October 2022, Shanahan has explored finding a legitimate complement to the team's RB1. Though the Niners only have a one-game sample size, the early returns indicate that Black might be the powerful complement they've long sought next to McCaffrey.

"I thought they both ran really hard and really well," Shanahan said. "That was the goal for us coming into this, trying to balance it out more." When McCaffrey is healthy, balance has not been the word anyone would use to describe the 49ers' distribution of carries. The Melbourne game marked the first time a Niner had more rushing attempts (Black had 14) than McCaffrey (10) in a game he started and finished since the 2022 divisional playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys. Black had only one reception compared to McCaffrey's four, but that left them with an even split of 15 touches each for 70 and 88 yards, respectively.

Black's extensive snaps came as a result of design and a bit because of McCaffrey dealing with cramps during the game, but Black earning such a role after missing a chunk of training camp with an adductor injury speaks volumes for the 24-year-old third-round pick. Especially given the 49ers' recent history of draft misses at the position in the middle rounds. "[Black is] a force and he's someone who's going to help our team a whole lot," McCaffrey said. "It was really cool to see him go out there and just do what he does."