The 49ers’ offense was among the NFL’s best in a myriad of stats, including yards per game (eighth), first downs (third) and points per game (10th), but the team took the cake in one particular category, and it’s an ever-important one: third-down conversions.
Yes, San Francisco finished best in the NFL during the regular season in third-down conversion percentage with a whopping 49.8 percent.
The team successfully converted 106 of a possible 213 third downs on the year.
The player that led the team in first-down receptions — you guessed it, Jauan Jennings, aka Third-and-Jauan, who finished with 19 on the year (ninth-most in the NFL).
Christian McCaffrey also contributed and led all the league’s position players with 32 total first downs (17 rushing and 15 receiving) for the 49ers.
While that stat might not be the end-all, be-all for San Francisco and its ability to win games, its third-down conversion rate in victories was significantly better than in losses.
The 49ers went 83-for-158 on third downs in their 12 wins, good enough for 52.5 percent, but in their five losses the team went just 23-for-55 (41.8 percent) on such tries.
San Francisco’s opponent on Sunday in the NFC Wild Card Game, the Philadelphia Eagles, were 12th on such occasions and allowed 40.5 percent of third-down conversions.
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