5 stats the 49ers must show improvement in 2019
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: Sacks
Perhaps at no other point in recent NFL history has passing offense been so crucial. Likewise, stopping an effective pass attack is equally as necessary.
The 49ers didn’t give up a ton of pass yards in 2018 — 3,732, which ranked 11th best — but they did give up all those touchdowns and a lot of points, meaning there’s something lacking here.
Much of it starts up front, where San Francisco finished the year tied for 22nd with just 37 sacks. And if you take away Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner‘s 12.0 from last season, the number would be putrid:
| Game | Game | Fumb | Fumb | Tack | Tack | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player | Age | Pos | G | GS | FF | FR | Sk | TFL | QBHits |
| 99 | DeForest Buckner* | 24 | RDT | 16 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 12.0 | 17 | 20 |
| 47 | Elijah Lee | 22 | lb | 16 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 91 | Arik Armstead | 25 | DE | 16 | 16 | 3.0 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 38 | Antone Exum | 27 | fs/ss | 15 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 2 | 2 |
| 32 | D.J. Reed | 22 | db/fs | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 54 | Cassius Marsh | 26 | de | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5.5 | 7 | 14 |
| 25 | Richard Sherman | 30 | LCB | 14 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 98 | Ronald Blair | 25 | 16 | 0 | 5.5 | 10 | 14 | |||
| 94 | Solomon Thomas | 23 | DE | 16 | 13 | 1.0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 53 | Mark Nzeocha | 28 | lb | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 96 | Sheldon Day | 24 | 12 | 0 | 2.0 | 2 | 3 | |||
| 97 | Dekoda Watson | 30 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 1 | 4 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/5/2019.
Adding Ford, who had 13.0 sacks and a league-high seven forced fumbles last season, should help matters a lot and take pressure of Buckner. So should the addition of Bosa through the draft, who was widely viewed as this year’s top prospect.
The 49ers haven’t received enough complementary pass-rushing prowess outside of Buckner. Boasting two double-digit sack specialists should do wonders for the Niners pass rush, which should ultimately help the final category in this list.