Stats show why 49ers offense is struggling under Kyle Shanahan

49ers statistic No. 1: Inconsistent third-down conversion success

According to the traditionalists, NFL games are won in two key areas: within the red zone and on third down.

Historically, Kyle Shanahan’s offenses have had some difficulty in the red zone, 2021 being somewhat of a positive outlier. And while San Francisco’s third-down efforts last season resulted in a very-average 40.1-percent success rate, the early showings for 2022 are shaping up to be pretty bad.

The 49ers’ problems on third down should be highlighted by the woeful 1-of-10 mark experienced in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos, but the third-down efficiency in the previous two games looks notably confusing:

• Week 1 @ Bears: 8-of-17 (47 percent)
• Week 2 vs. Seahawks: 6-of-15 (40 percent)

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The Niners lost Week 1 amid the rain-soaked conditions of Soldier Field, yet they were dominant in Week 2 over Seattle despite experiencing the drop in third-down success.

Perhaps the overall takeaway is the lack of consistency.

In total, and this is what’s important, San Francisco’s third-down conversion percentage on the young season is a lowly 35.7 percent, good for 20th in the league.

While that can’t necessarily be blamed for the Week 1 loss, it should be highlighted as a key reason why Week 3’s offensive output was so bad and why Shanahan’s offense as a whole is scuffling.