How the 49ers Have Improved on Third Down this Offseason

The 49ers weren't good enough on third down to make it to the Super Bowl last season.

You would think the 49ers would have been excellent on third down, considering they ranked 7th in total offense, 3rd in total defense and had All Pros on both sides of the ball.

But they weren't good on third down. Their offense ranked 14th in third-down efficiency and their defense ranked a lowly 21st. This didn't cost them during the regular season, but in the NFC Championship, their offense converted 3 of 9 third downs while their defense allowed the Rams to convert 11 of 18 third downs, and that was all she wrote for the 49ers.

So this offseason, the 49ers made a point of improving on the money down.

They finally seem ready to make Trey Lance the starting quarterback -- that's why they're trying to trade Jimmy Garoppolo. And Garoppolo is the main reason the offense ranked just 14th on third down despite having Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings and Kyle Juszczyk.

Garoppolo is a statue who can't read defenses. If the first read isn't open, he's a disaster waiting to happen. Plus, he seems afraid to throw to the sidelines or down the field, so he doesn't take advantage of all his weapons.

Lance will improve the third down offense simply by throwing to Aiyuk and Jennings outside the numbers, not forcing everything to Samuel and Kittle over the middle, and then scrambling when lanes present themselves.

The 49ers also improved their third-down defense by signing cornerback Charvarius Ward, who will play bump-and-run man-to-man coverage, as opposed to Emmanuel Moseley and Ambry Thomas, who generally line up 9 yards off the line of scrimmage and give up first downs by the bushel.

These improvements don't necessarily mean the 49ers will go to the Super Bowl next season, but they're a start.

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