4 stats where 49ers were shockingly bad during 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: 49ers had plenty of third-down woes
From an offensive vantage point, the 49ers weren’t notably terrible on converting third-down attempts over the course of the season, finishing with a successful conversion percentage here 40.1 percent of the time, which ranked right in the middle of the pack at 15th.
This might help explain why the Niners’ scoring offense was in the middle of the pack, too, and at least San Francisco’s red-zone offense made up for it with a touchdown percentage in the top five at 64.4 percent.
It’s on the flip side where the 49ers’ third-down woes truly come to light, though.
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Throughout the course of the regular season and into the playoffs, the Niners defense vastly struggled to prevent opponents from converting on third downs, giving up successful conversions 41.3 percent of the time, which was 20th in the league.
This does stand in contrast with just how impactful San Francisco’s defense was overall, especially in terms of yards allowed.
But, when opponents were facing third-down situations, the 49ers weren’t wholly up to the task of cutting short other teams’ drives.
Perhaps because of the next and final statistical weakness the Niners endured.