5 stats where the 49ers will need improvement in 2018
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: Red-Zone Efficiency
Touchdown Percentage: 47.06 — 27th in the NFL
I can’t recall exactly who said it, but there’s a great quote on settling for field goals instead of touchdowns. It goes something like, “you wind up three points closer to a loss with each field goal.”
On one hand, it’s good the 49ers finished 37.5 percent of their offensive possessions with some kind of score. That mark is ninth best in the league.
But when you factor in a 47.06-percent red-zone touchdown-efficiency rating, per TeamRankings.com, that’s not so good. That number ranks 27th.
Unlike the previous slide, we can’t exactly categorize this number into a pre- or post-Garoppolo starting category. Even the Niners’ apparent franchise signal-caller has had his issues in the red zone, and the numbers for San Francisco’s offense between Weeks 13 and 17 reflect it.
Over those five games, the 49ers went 11-of-24 in the red zone, which equates to 45.8 percent — a number lower than the aforementioned mark that earned the offense a 27th-best ranking.
So how do you fix it?
For starters, it doesn’t help the Niners boasted the league’s shortest wide receivers this season. A big red-zone threat would be ideal.
The last we checked, Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham is a pending free agent and doesn’t appear to be re-signed for 2018.
That’s a fix. And it isn’t as if the Niners are hurting for cap space.