Through 14 weeks, no team has fewer sacks than the San Francisco 49ers, who boast an underwhelming 16 so far.
Putting that into a more painful context, the Cleveland Browns' Myles Garrett alone has more sacks on the season (20) than the Niners do, collectively, picking up one of those when San Francisco visited him back in Week 13.
True, the 49ers' sack drought is largely due to season-ending ACL tears suffered by top edge rushers, Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams, leaving B-level pass-rushers like Bryce Huff and Clelin Ferrell to attempt to plug the void.
Still, the lack of quarterback takedowns is awfully alarming.
Fortunately, there's a large beacon of hope in this department, and it comes by the way of the two-win Tennessee Titans, who have the (mis)fortune of visiting the Niners after the latter's bye week, meaning coordinator Robert Saleh's defense should be adequately rested for the showdown at Levi's Stadium.
49ers can pad lowly sack totals against Cam Ward, lowly Titans
Facing what'll again be a lengthy rebuild, it's more than safe to say rookie quarterback Cam Ward isn't exactly enjoying his protection in year one.
No quarterback has been sacked more than Ward this season, who is currently tied with the Las Vegas Raiders' Geno Smith at having been taken down a whopping 49 times on the year through 14 weeks. While Vegas has allowed one more team sack than Tennessee's 49 surrendered, and some of those the Titans have given up are squarely on Ward's shoulders, it's not as if San Francisco's Week 15 opponent boasts an above-average offensive line.
"Average" is far too generous anyway. Pro Football Focus ranked Tennessee's O-line 27th entering Week 14.
Multi-sack games have been something of a rarity for the 49ers this season, although one might hope that trend is improving after Ferrell and the Niners took down Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders three times nearly two weeks ago.
Fortunately, Tennessee's issues protecting Ward afford San Francisco to climb out of the "sack basement," potentially allowing for one of those elusive multi-sack performances by Saleh's defense.