What did the 49ers do well through 5 games?

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

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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

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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

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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 two have gone for touchbacks. His 4.41-second hang time ranks sixth in the NFL and just 31.6 percent of his kicks are being returned. If the 49ers begin playing complimentary football on offense and defense again, Wishnowsky’s ability to give opposing offenses long fields could be a key factor in a playoff run.

Limiting long TDs

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While the 49ers’ defense hasn’t been perfect, they’ve still done a nice job of making teams earn touchdowns. A 43-yard touchdown catch on a screen pass by Lions RB DeAndre Swift is the longest touchdown San Francisco has allowed this season, and no other score has gone for more than 16 yards. The 49ers should give themselves opportunities to stick around in games as long as they can continue without allowing long touchdowns.

Offensive line play

(AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

While the 49ers’ offensive line play has come under a little bit of a microscope thanks to some bouts of poor play. However, they rank eighth in pass blocking and fifth in run blocking according to Pro Football Focus. 22 combined pressures allowed by right tackle Mike McGlinchey and right guard Daniel Brunskill is definitely concerning, but 11 pressures each isn’t a catastrophic number. It just stands out because of the superb play from Alex Mack at center and the left side with Laken Tomlinson and Trent Williams. All in all the offensive line play has been a lot of good with some bad mixed in. If the bad plays can start to filter out, this has a chance to be a really strong group late in the year.

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