The 49ers and their coach Kyle Shanahan are no strangers to second-half woes in seasons past, and the problem has plagued them in a different way this year.
Sure, it’s not as devastating as blowing a Super Bowl lead. But San Francisco has struggled so far when it comes to putting points on the board in the third and fourth quarters -- and it’s a dilemma Shanahan is well aware of.
“I don’t know,” Shanahan said Monday via conference call when asked if there’s a pattern from game to game regarding the team’s second-half production. The day before, the 49ers dropped their Week 6 contest to the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 28-14 after being shut out in the final two quarters.
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“I’d say the most common thread, I think, is when we struggle on third down,” Shanahan continued. “I feel we struggle to get points, and I think that happened definitely in this game and that definitely happened versus Denver, so that could be some more common things.
“We’re moving the ball decent, but we’re not getting enough points, and we have to finish out and capitalize on some of these opportunities and we have to start putting more points on the board.”
Shanahan also pointed to San Francisco’s third-down efficiency during Monday’s call when talking about what went wrong overall for the team during the Week 6 loss. The 49ers converted just 38 percent of their third-down attempts Sunday (3-for-8), compared to Atlanta’s 64 percent (9-for-14).
Against the Denver Broncos in Week 3, in which the 49ers only scored a field goal in the second half, the offense was just 1-for-10 on third down. For comparison, the 49ers converted 7 of 12 third downs in their highest-scoring game of the season against the Carolina Panthers in Week 5 and scored 20 second-half points.
San Francisco 49ers
On the season, however, the 49ers’ third-down stats are slightly better than what they showed against the Falcons on Sunday. San Francisco has converted 30 of its 74 third-down attempts through six weeks (41 percent), tying the team for 13th in the NFL.
But in second-half points per game, the 49ers are No. 26 in the league with 7.2. Their 6 offensive points per second half ranks 27th, and the team is averaging just 4.81 yards per play (26th) in those halves (h/t Nick Wagoner of ESPN).
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When the 49ers can’t execute on third down, their usually dominant run game -- and the centerpiece of their offensive production -- comes to a standstill.
If San Francisco’s offense wants to get clicking again against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7, improving on third down is a must.