5 things 49ers must clean up after beating Cowboys in Wild Card

No. 4: 49ers special teams need fixing now

Special teams can’t exactly win games for a team, but it certainly can lose them.

And there surely have been games this year where San Francisco’s own special teams unit cost the team a win.

If anything, the 49ers’ special teams unit has been primary weakness No. 1, only offset in the Wild Card round by Robbie Gould connecting on all his field goals and extra-point attempts. And the Niners’ return specialists didn’t fumble anything either, so at least there weren’t any glaring gaffes on that front.

Still, the fact Football Outsiders ranks San Francisco’s special teams at No. 26 in the league this season says a lot.

Perhaps no other play epitomized the 49ers’ woes here than the fake punt Dallas successfully executed early in the fourth quarter where embattled cornerback Josh Norman completely gave up on the Cowboys’ gunner and would-be receiver, C.J. Goodwin, for a successful first down:

That marks the second time this season the Niners have been burned by a fake punt, and they’ll need to ensure whatever improvements necessary are made between now and the divisional round.