In pulling off a much-needed win over the Seahawks, the 49ers' red-zone woes don't appear as bad as they once were... thankfully.
There have already been plenty of themes for the San Francisco 49ers this season: injuries, fourth-quarter collapses and...
Head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense entered its Week 6 Thursday Night Football bout against the Seattle Seahawks with the NFL's fourth-worst red-zone offense, scoring touchdowns a mere 40.9 percent of the time inside the 20-yard line.
Fortunately, the 49ers' red-zone woes continued through only the first half of Thursday Night Football against the Seahawks.
Amid the Niners' 36-24 win versus the Hawks, it's safe to say the problem is at least trending in the right direction.
49ers' red-zone woes slowly dissipate despite win vs. Seahawks
San Francisco experienced an ominous situation at Lumen Field: leading by double-digit points but watching that lead evaporate, thanks to an opponent's late-game surge.
Sounds a lot like the losses to the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals in Weeks 3 and 5, respectively, right?
Failure to find pay dirt in the red zone is a primary reason why the 49ers haven't held those leads, and going 3-of-5 on red-zone drives in Seattle suggests the question marks are going away.
Slowly, perhaps.
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Thankfully, the Niners managed to hold on this time. And a late red-zone score from quarterback Brock Purdy to tight end George Kittle, along with a second from fullback Kyle Juszczyk, ensured there'd be no collapse this go-around.
Shanahan and his offense still need to find some sort of urgency to rectify the issues, especially with a Week 7 matchup against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs looming.
Fortunately, San Francisco has a few extra days on the "mini" bye week to solve what's bothering them down inside opponents' 20-yard lines. Should the 49ers' red-zone woes continue, the likelihood of unprotected leads and late-game collapses will increase significantly.