What did the 49ers do well through 5 games?
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The 49ers didn’t get out to the start they wanted in 2021, now they enter their bye week at 2-3 and in last in the NFC West. While plenty has gone wrong for San Francisco, there are some reasons for optimism moving into their final 12 games.
Here are some of the things the 49ers did well through the first five weeks:
Red zone conversions
(AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
While trips to the red zone need to be a little more frequent, the 49ers did a superb job of turning their red zone trips into touchdowns. They’ve been inside the opponent’s 20-yard-line 11 times and scored 10 touchdowns in those instances. The lone hiccup came in Week 5 when Trey Lance was stonewalled at the goal line. This is an important trend to continue if their offense starts getting deeper into drives more consistently.
3rd-down stops
Michael Chow-USA TODAY Sports
While the 49ers defense hasn’t been as dominant as it was in 2019, they’ve excelled at getting off the field on third down. They’re allowing opponents to convert on just 32.8 percent of their third downs, which is the sixth-best rate in the NFL. If they mix in more turnovers with their third-down stops they’ll be in great shape to push back toward their 2019 form.
Get the ball to Deebo
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Deebo Samuel came into 2021 on a mission and the 49ers have obliged him with a team-high 52 targets on just 158 pass attempts. That means San Francisco quarterbacks have targeted Samuel on 32.9 percent of their throws. George Kittle is second at 17.7 percent after missing Week 5. The 49ers have an elite playmaker in Samuel, and they’ve found creative ways to get him the football so far. That’ll have to continue for San Francisco to get out of its present offensive funk.
Punting
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
That’s right! Punter Mitch Wishnowsky has been superb and he deserves some credit. His 19 total punts put him in the middle of the pack, but he’s dropped 12 of those punts inside the 20 and only…
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Source : yahoo
