While the San Francisco 49ers hit the first-quarter mark of the 2025 regular season coming off a brutal 26-21 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, one can at least be content with the fact head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad is 3-1 and already has two division wins under the belt.
Both Shanahan and the fans shouldn't, however, be content with some specific elements of how the Niners have played to date.
And two stats reveal just how odd and troubling those elements might be for San Francisco this season.
Fans probably heard enough of one particular stat during Fox Sports' broadcast of the Week 4 showdown against the Jags, specifically, how coordinator Robert Saleh's defense had yet to record an interception. Linebacker Fred Warner had a couple of chances, while rookie cornerback Upton Stout appeared to have a pick, only to see it called back because of a pass-interference penalty.
As such, the 49ers are one of only three teams (the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins) yet to record an interception this season. Meanwhile, after picking off quarterback Brock Purdy twice on Sunday, the Jags lead the league with nine takeaways through the air.
But that's not the only inexplicable stat.
49ers still haven't managed a rushing touchdown through 4 weeks
Saleh's defense is primarily young and still developing, but Shanahan's crop of offensive stars have mostly established themselves as bona fide playmakers.
Particularly All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey.
Shanahan's offensive "bread and butter" has long been the run game, yet for a flurry of reasons, McCaffrey and the rushing offense hasn't been able to find much of a footing on the year, averaging a paltry 3.3 yards per carry.
Even worse, no one on the Niners offense has crossed the goal line on a run play. Read that again, "no one." Not McCaffrey, not Purdy and not even the additional tailback acquired before Week 1, Brian Robinson Jr.
While San Francisco has some not-so-enjoyable company in the no-interception department, it is the lone team through four weeks yet to score a touchdown on the ground.
So odd. Very, very odd indeed.
Again, there are plenty of potential reasons. Injuries to key wide receivers like Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings throughout the year have convinced opposing defenses to respect receiving threats less and cheat more toward the box, while a key red-zone threat like George Kittle being absent has meant more focus on McCaffrey. It's also been fair to blame the offensive line for poorish run blocking, too.
Still, that doesn't quite add up to the zero-touchdowns-on-the-ground stat, and the 49ers have to be baffled as a result.
So are we.