The San Francisco 49ers' first-team offense had little trouble moving the ball during its preseason game versus the Indianapolis Colts Saturday. But finding the end zone proved to be a more difficult matter.
Red zone woes were a problem for the San Francisco 49ers in 2017. According to TeamRankings.com, head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad finished 27th in the NFL in red zone touchdown efficiency.
And if the Niners' preseason Week 3 efforts against the Indianapolis Colts were any indication, that trend might continue into 2018 as well despite running back Alfred Morris and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo moving the ball pretty effectively over the first two quarters.
Sure, these exhibition games are watered-down versions of the real thing. Play calling is "vanilla" and Shanahan's complex, innovative offense won't reveal much between now and the regular season. Extending his starters into the early portions of the third quarter, however, Shanahan and Co. would have liked to see a better red-zone line than going 0-of-3 within the Colts' 25-yard line.
"Running the ball well doesn't get you points," Shanahan told reporters following San Francisco's 23-17 exhibition loss. "Doing better, longer, gets you points."
Shanahan's offense was faced with a 3rd-and-1 in the first quarter, but Garoppolo's pass to tight end Garrett Celek was dropped. The following play, Shanahan elected to go for it. But the following pass didn't make its way into the hands of wide receiver Kendrick Bourne.
Turnover on downs and a 0-of-1 mark on red-zone trips at that point, and the first teamers settled for two field goals on their following two trips within this area.
"0-for-3 in the red zone," Shanahan continued. "I want to say we had four drops in the first half, and we had way too many penalties. Especially down there. It's hard to get anything out of your run game when you hurt yourselves like that."
As was the case in the red zone, the 49ers have been struggling with penalties for the entirety of the preseason. During this contest, the Niners were hit with 10 accepted flags for a total of 98 yards. One of those included a questionable call against linebacker Mark Nzeocha, who was flagged for lowering his helmet on a tackle. The controversial penalty will continue to draw attention into the regular season if not addressed.
"There's a lot of little details we need to get fixed up," Garoppolo mentioned later in the press conference. "There's a lot of good things. We moved the ball well. But the little details need to be fixed up."
Overall on the day, the 49ers went 1-of-5 in red zone trips.
The good news, however, is that's what preseason games are for. San Francisco also struggled with penalties a year ago at this time, although that trend fell off a bit into the 2017 regular season. Yet the Niners still managed to finish fourth in most flags last season with 123.
That'll likely be a point of emphasis, as will be the red zone, for Shanahan and Co. in the remaining days between now and the 49ers' regular-season debut on Sept. 9 versus the Minnesota Vikings. Meanwhile, the Niners have one more preseason bout against the Los Angeles Chargers on Aug. 30, which will almost entirely feature backups and players not likely to make the 53-man roster this season.
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Written by:Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
