San Francisco 49ers: 5 statistics needing massive improvement in Week 4

GLENDALE, AZ - NOVEMBER 13: Running back Carlos Hyde #28 of the San Francisco 49ers runs during the first half of the NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on November 13, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals beat the 49ers 23-20. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - NOVEMBER 13: Running back Carlos Hyde #28 of the San Francisco 49ers runs during the first half of the NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on November 13, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals beat the 49ers 23-20. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
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SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Brian Hoyer #2 of the San Francisco 49ers looks to pass against the Los Angeles Rams during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on September 21, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Brian Hoyer #2 of the San Francisco 49ers looks to pass against the Los Angeles Rams during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on September 21, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

No. 2: Offensive Drive Duration

We’ve seen how this affected the 49ers defense in two of the last three games.

San Francisco’s defense tired out in the fourth quarter on the road against the Seahawks, eventually allowing the game-winning drive by Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson to happen. The Niners defense was gassed, plain and simple.

That exhaustion likely carried over on a short week into Week 3 against the Rams. San Francisco managed to force just two Los Angeles punts.

There’s a reason for this — the lack of extended drives to tire out the opposing defense and give the Niners’ own defense a rest.

Through three weeks, San Francisco’s average offensive drive duration is two minutes and 19 seconds which, coming into the weekend’s games, ranked 29th in the NFL.

While nowhere near as bad as the 2:11 mark posted by former head coach Chip Kelly’s offense a year ago, one can see how problematic this has been over the course of this season early on.

Let’s see if head coach Kyle Shanahan can engineer some drives lasting a bit longer, therefore giving his defense a bit of a rest on an already longer week.

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