5 key stats where 49ers offense dramatically improves in 2022

49ers stat improvement No. 1: Fourth-quarter scoring

Let’s begin to put all of this together. For starters, the Niners should be better at moving the ball deep down the field with Trey Lance under center, and short-yardage rushing improvement should improve whenever Lance and Co. find themselves in 3rd-and-2 situations.

From there, having a better overall third-down success rate should see a boost, while San Francisco can anticipate having shorter fields on offense.

Defense, not offense, is usually the side of the ball that tires out as games drag on. However, in the 49ers’ case last year, the offense tended to peter out in the fourth quarter. In 2021, the Niners averaged a mere 5.6 points in the fourth quarter, which ranked eighth worst, and they were one of only two teams in that group that still managed to make the playoffs.

And we’ve already established it was primarily the defense that helped get them there.

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As evidenced in the NFC Championship game, the offense falling flat in the fourth quarter can be disastrous, and arguably the only way to get over the proverbial hump and into the Super Bowl will be to ensure the fourth-quarter scoring doesn’t suffer a letup.

Granted, the data can be skewed by teams with hefty leads in the fourth quarter and playing conservative ball while trying to protect those leads. But for a 10-7 San Francisco squad during the regular season a year ago, it’s not as if we’re talking about this context being the norm for Kyle Shanahan and his offense.

At any rate, one should expect a sizable increase from the 49ers offense during the fourth quarter, hopefully jumping into a more acceptable range of, let’s say, an average of seven points in the final frame of regulation.