49ers must clean up these 3 vital stats in Week 8 vs. Rams
By Peter Panacy
Stat No. 2: 49ers can’t afford to be bit by the penalty bug
A massive reason why the 49ers have dealt with such a lackluster offense this season is because of penalties, and last week’s loss against Kansas City revealed this in full.
During that game, one in which they couldn’t afford to proverbially “shoot themselves in the foot,” the Niners were penalized 10 times for 80 yards, and that kind of number has been far too consistent for San Francisco seemingly all season long.
To date, the 49ers now have the fifth most penalties in the league (48) entering Week 8, and what’s been more frustrating is the fact 20 of them have been the largely avoidable pre-snap variety, hindering the offense in many cases and setting up more 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-and-long plays.
Related Story: Niners back into top 5 of NFL teams with the most penalties
Granted, the Rams aren’t quite as potent, offensively, as the Chiefs are. So, the Niners may be able to absorb a few more gaffes than they would have been able to the previous week.
Still, too many penalties would be one way to ensure San Francisco winds up falling short on Sunday and suffers a three-game losing streak instead of putting an end to a two-game skid.