Niners Nation
The 49ers will have plenty of opportunities in the red zone this Sunday against the Bucs
The San Francisco 49ers used the bye week to determine what went wrong in their 4-4 start to the season and will hope to fix those issues for the second half.
The first chance for improvement will come on Sunday in Tampa Bay when the 49ers take on a Buccaneers team looking to end a three-game losing streak. However, the biggest fix for the 49ers can’t be found on film but with a return.
Our numbers to know this week begin with a uniform number:
23
No. 23 Christian McCaffrey will make his season debut on Sunday.
No statistic can be more important than McCaffrey’s impact on the 49ers’ offense. It’s not that the 49ers’ offense can’t function without the running back—they rank sixth in points per game and second in yards per game—it’s just that the offense can be so much better than what it is, and McCaffrey is likely the missing piece.
The 49ers offense is more explosive than it was through eight games last season, with 40 plays going for more than 20 yards compared to 35 last season through the first eight games. McCaffrey only had five plays that gained 20-plus yards through eight games last year – he’d finish the season with 13 – but on those five touches, he’d score twice, the same amount of scores San Francisco has on its 40 such plays this season.
McCaffrey’s touchdown-scoring ability will help the 49ers on big plays and when they’re close to the end zone. The 49ers red zone woes are well documented, as they rank 28th, scoring a touchdown on 48.6 percent of red zone trips, a season removed from being ranked first.
Of his 21 total touchdowns in 2023, 18 came from inside the red zone, the driving force of an offense that scored a touchdown on 67 percent of red zone drives. Through the first eight games of last season, McCaffrey had 11 red zone touchdowns, just six fewer than the 49ers have as a team through eight games this season.
The San Francisco offense has proven it can function without the all-pro running back, but no matter what, McCaffrey’s knack for the end zone can take it to another level.
35
The Tampa Bay defense has allowed 35 red zone entries this season, the second-most in the league.
Tampa Bay is tied with the Seattle Seahawks, against whom the Niners scored three touchdowns in five red zone possessions last month. Seattle had held San Francisco touchdown-less in the red zone in the first half, but the 49ers ripped three consecutive red zone touchdowns in the second half en route to a 36-24 win.
Because of the number of entries allowed, Tampa Bay has allowed 21 red zone touchdowns, the fourth-most in the league. The Bucs are one of 12 teams to allow a touchdown on at least 60 percent of red zone drives, right at...
