Strange unwritten football rules the 49ers, rest of NFL face

49ers unwritten rule No. 1: Only go for two points when you have to

Teams should never go for two points unless they absolutely have to, meaning the situations are likely going to arise late in the game when Team A is trying to catch up with Team B.

Well, not always. There are instances where the leading team has an advantage going for two points. Case in point, let’s say the 49ers score a touchdown with one minute left in the fourth quarter and are now leading by five points. An extra-point attempt would increase the lead to six, yet the opponent marching down the field and scoring a touchdown would put that previous Niners decision in peril, as a subsequent extra-point attempt would give the opponent a lead.

And field goals wouldn’t matter anyway.

When the league moved extra-point attempts back from the 2-yard line, two-point attempts have seen an increase. Last season, the Atlanta Falcons averaged 0.6 two-point attempts per game, which led the league, while the Niners were tied for last with 0.1 per contest. Ten years earlier, the highest-ranking teams averaged around 0.3 two-point attempts per game.

Interestingly enough, the mean of 2019 two-point attempts was 50 percent last season, meaning it equates out to making 100 percent of extra-point attempts on a regular basis.

Perhaps the 49ers would be in a better situation going for two instead of settling for extra points.