{"id":67205,"date":"2019-06-20T14:18:17","date_gmt":"2019-06-20T18:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=67205"},"modified":"2019-06-20T16:51:27","modified_gmt":"2019-06-20T20:51:27","slug":"49ers-defense-was-offense-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/06\/20\/49ers-defense-was-offense-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco 49ers Defense: Was Offense the Issue?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2018, the San Francisco 49ers<\/a> offense ranked 22nd\u00a0in points per game and the defense 28th\u00a0in points conceded per game. Looking from a high level, it would be fair to say of the two units (of which neither performed well), it would be the defense that let the team down more. Especially when you look at certain stats. The defense only achieving 0.4 takeaways per game, the worst in the NFL, for example.<\/p>\n

How the Biggest Issue with the San Francisco 49ers Defense Was the Offense Putting Them in Poor Situations<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Poor Field Position<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s delve a little bit deeper about where the 49ers struggled. They averaged 1.2 interceptions thrown per game and 0.8 fumbles lost per game. This ranks them last in the NFL for giveaways, averaging two per game. This is important for one main statistic, opponent starting field position. 49ers\u2019 opponents started on average on the 31-yard line, which ranks them second\u00a0behind the Buffalo Bills<\/a>. As you can imagine, the closer your opponent starts to your end zone, the more likely you are to concede. Only two of the top 10 in this statistic went to the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys<\/a> and New England Patriots<\/a> were seemingly able to overcome their opponents starting with good field position.<\/p>\n

The Bright Spots on the 49ers Defense<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s not to say the 49ers defense would have been great if they were put in better positions. However, as a defense, it\u2019s hard to keep opponents out when the offense is giving the ball away to opponents in easy scoring positions. The 49ers defense, as a result, ranked a mediocre 13th\u00a0in opponent yards per game. This could be a sign that the defense isn\u2019t as bad as we think. More likely, it could be a byproduct of opponents not needing to gain as many yards to reach the end zone.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s take a look at some stats that can\u2019t be skewed by bad field position:<\/p>\n