49ers vs. Eagles: 4 eye-popping stats that define Week 2 win
By Peter Panacy
49ers Stat No. 3: Offense starts 3-and-out three times
Despite the win, it’s not all good from San Francisco’s vantage point.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense struggled to anything going for much of the game, particularly early on when the Eagles were excellent stuffing the run. And while things eventually started to pick up for the 49ers towards the end of the second quarter, those first offensive drives weren’t pretty.
Especially when the Niners started with three consecutive 3-and-outs to begin the game. According to the Associated Press‘ Josh Dubow, that had never happened before in Shanahan’s San Francisco tenure and wasn’t a thing for the 49ers since 2016:
#49ers open a game w/ 3 straight 3 and outs for the 1st time in the Kyle Shanahan era. They last did it 11/13/16 vs Cardinals w/ Chip Kelly as coach. Haven't done 4 straight since 9/27/09
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) September 19, 2021
Shanahan’s opening plays are typically scripted, which is the norm. And on the first two drives, it was a run up the middle, followed by a dropped screen and then an incomplete pass on third down.
Rough. But it would have been much rougher if the Niners ended up losing Week 2.