There is only one person to blame for 49ers' continued red-zone woes

The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the worst teams in the NFL in 2024 when it comes to red -zone efficiency. This comes after they were the best team in this respect last season.

The only person to blame for this is head coach Kyle Shanahan.

The Niners' struggles at scoring scoring touchdowns in the red zone has been apparent all season. Outside of the red zone, they are moving the ball with phenomenal efficency. They are currently second in the NFL when it comes to average yards per game on offense.

The problem has been punching it into the end zone for six points.

Right now, San Francisco ranks 29th out of 32 teams when it comes to red-zone efficency. When the 49ers reach the red zone, they are only scoring a touchdown roughly 47 percent of the time. They are among dismal teams like the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, and New York Giants at the bottom of these rankings.

Last season, the Niners were the best in the NFL at scoring a touchdown when they got inside the 20-yard line. They scored a touchdown 68 percent of the time when they reached the red zone last season.

What accounts for such a steep drop off?

Early this season, a common explanation was San Francisco was missing star running back Christian McCaffrey, one of the top red-zone threats from last season. This seemed like a reasonable explanation, but McCaffrey returned in Week 10 against the Tampe Bay Buccaneers, and the Niners still struggled to get the ball in the end zone, scoring a touchdown on only one of three trips to the red zone.

Of course, this was McCaffrey's first action of the season, so perhaps it will take some time for him to be fully back to normal and feel comfortable.

Still, the 49ers should not be as bad as they have been at red-zone efficiency even when one takes into account their injuries to key offensive weapons. Shanahan is either overthinking things or struggling to adapt to whatever opposing defenses are showing in the red zone. It is tough to score in the red zone because there is less field to work with and less of a chance to scheme guys open like Shanahan is able to do with a lot of field to work with.

Still, Shanahan is considered an offense genius, so he has to be able to adjust and figure out ways to punch the ball in.

Perhaps having a weapon like McCaffrey back is what Shanahan needs to get San Francisco back on track in the red zone. The Niners were able to skirt by against Tampa Bay, but going forward as they play better teams, they must start scoring touchdowns.

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