Five 49ers strengths the Patriots have to contend with
At 1-8, the San Fransisco 49ers have the second-worst record in the NFL, and the worst in the NFC. Needless to say, there haven’t been a whole lot of positives for the Niners this season, but they have managed to do a few things well.
Here are five areas the Niners are at least competent in:
1. Running the football
The Niners rank fourth in the NFL in rushing attempts and fourth in rushing touchdowns. For a league bottom-dweller, that’s pretty impressive, and they’ve shown the ability to succeed with different personnel. Carlos Hyde has 443 rushing yards on the season to go with 6 touchdowns, for an average of 63 yards per game. His backup, DuJuan Harris, averaged 5.9 yards per carry in his one start as part of a 159 total-yard performance. Considering San Fransisco has lost games by margins of 18, 19 (twice), and 29, their ability to run the ball at all is notable.
2. Colin Kaepernick’s mobility
Kaepernick certainly isn’t the player he once was, but in Chip Kelly’s offense he has become dangerous as a runner again. In his four starts under center, Kaepernick has rushed 32 times for 228 yards, for an average of 7.1 yards per carry. While their running backs have had success, their quarterback may actually be their most dangerous runner.
3. Avoiding penalties
Part of what’s made the Niners run game successful is that they rarely get called for holding. Only the Texans have committed fewer offensive penalties than 49ers’ 49, a pretty significant drop from the most common offenders (the Raiders lead the league with 94). On defense, their 57 penalties rank 6th fewest.
4. Forcing turnovers
The 49er defense has been extremely vulnerable, especially to the run, but they have managed to put together 15 takeaways this year, tied for 8th-best in the NFL. The Niners have given up the third-most points in the league, joining with the Saints (15 takeaways, 2nd most points allowed) and Chargers (19 takeaways, 5th most points allowed) as teams with porous defenses that can still make plays.
5. Getting a high draft pick
Finding any more strengths of this current 49ers roster is a stretch, but it is worth acknowledging that their abysmal performance this year will lead them to some favorable selections in next year’s draft, including contention for the number one pick. San Fransisco is in a tough spot, especially considering that their few strong points are all but undone by their weaknesses – it’s hard to win the game on the ground when you’re trailing by double digits.
Factoring in that the worst aspect of the Niners roster is their pass defense, things could get ugly when Tom Brady arrives Sunday.
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