Red zone woes play a big role in the early season struggles for the 49ers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Driving into the red zone hasn't been a problem early this season for the San Francisco 49ers, who have gotten past the opponent's 20-yard line more than all but one team in the NFL.

Finishing those drives with touchdowns has been a major issue in a stark turnaround from last season when the Niners were the most efficient team in the NFL when it came to scoring touchdowns in the red zone.

The lack of ability to get into the end zone from in close played a major role in San Francisco's latest loss as the Niners were limited to one touchdown on six trips inside the 20 in a 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

“We’ve had some opportunities,” quarterback Brock Purdy said Tuesday. “I think that’s an area for me to be better for sure. Trust the plays, trust the concepts, trust my guys, and being willing to go down there and rip it. ... The windows get tighter and the timing of it is quicker and faster. For me it’s about getting back into a rhythm down there and giving my guys a chance.”

Purdy had one glaring miss last week against Arizona when he threw late and slightly off-target to tight end George Kittle, turning a potential walk-in touchdown into a play that went out of bounds at the 2. An incomplete pass on the next play led to a short field goal.

But the problems have been far deeper than that.

The 49ers (2-3) rank fourth worst in the NFL by converting 40.9% of red zone drives into touchdowns, down from a league-best rate of 67.2% in 2023. A major difference this season has been the absence of reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, who was tied for the league high with 18 of San Francisco's 45 red zone touchdowns a year ago.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said it's hard to put a finger on a theme for the issues.

“I think we need to be much more effective running it,” he said. ”When you run the ball twice, you’d like to get in and not just put one pressure third down on the pass game. And when you do throw it more, then you’ve got to make sure you come through with those, especially not having a negative play with those. Running the ball better takes a lot of pressure off, also gives some better passing looks. We’ve tried both and haven’t been good enough with both of those. So it’s all aspects of offense.”

While Jordan Mason has done a capable job filling in for McCaffrey by ranking second in the league with 536 yards rushing, he hasn't been as effective near the goal line with the third-worst success rate on red zone runs among players with at least 10 attempts.

That has put more pressure on Purdy and the passing game and the connection has fallen short as his completion rate has dropped from 70.3% last season to 56.7% through five games this year.

Kittle, who has caught three of the team's five TDs in the red zone this season, says teams have defended differently this season with some using coverages near the goal line that they hadn't used previously on film.

“Teams are just giving us different look sometimes,” he said. “So when you have an entire game plan based off of that, then it kind of whittles your game plan down to the 20 plays you had to like hey you can only run three of these plays now.”

NOTES: S Talanoa Hufanga will miss about a month after tearing ligaments in his wrist and will be replaced in the lineup by rookie Malik Mustapha. ... K Matthew Wright was signed to replace Jake Moody, who is out with a high ankle sprain. ... DT Jake Elliott (knee) and LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf) didn't practice. ... Kittle (ribs), WR Chris Conley (oblique), CB Charvarius Ward (knee), LB Fred Warner (ankle) and S Ji’Ayir Brown (ankle) were all limited.

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Josh Dubow, The Associated Press