Niners Nation
A lot of things have been different for the San Francisco 49ers this season.
San Francisco, having to deal with a substantial amount of injuries, is nothing new, but aside from Christian McCaffrey and the likes of Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings, the cast of characters on offense has been much changed.
Mac Jones has filled in admirably at quarterback for Brock Purdy and prospered while frequently targeting backups and players who were not on the roster last year.
Yet perhaps one of the most significant differences for San Francisco in 2025 through five weeks of the season has nothing to do with personnel. Instead, it concerns the approach head coach Kyle Shanahan has taken to decision-making.
Shanahan is traditionally known as a conservative head coach when it comes to his choices on fourth down.
While it’s still early in the campaign, things appear to be changing dramatically in that respect in 2025.
The 49ers have faced fourth down 36 times this season, and have gone for it eight times. That number might not immediately scream uptick in aggression from Shanahan, but it translates to San Francisco going for it 22.22 percent of the time.
That is a near-seven percent increase on 2024 (15.38%), when the 49ers went for it on just 16 of their 104 fourth downs. The numbers were similar in 2022 (14.81%) and 2023 (14.61%).
To put it another way, the 49ers are already halfway to matching their total fourth down attempts from the entirety of the previous season, and the early returns suggest Shanahan should keep his foot on the pedal.
Indeed, the 49ers have converted on six of their eight fourth-down attempts, their success coming despite a running game that has been one of the worst in the league in 2025.
Three of their attempts came in the dramatic win against the Rams last week, all of which were successful. But Shanahan has been consistent in being willing to go for it. The Week 2 win over the New Orleans Saints is the only game this season in which he has not done so, with Shanahan even willing to go for it while in field position as precarious as the San Francisco 36 against the Rams.
There are limits to Shanahan’s new-found aggression. He has yet to attempt a fourth-down conversion with over two yards to go, but these are encouraging signs from a traditionally conservative coach.
Given the returns to this point, there’s a strong argument for Shanahan continuing in this manner. The 49ers have largely vindicated his aggressiveness when they have gone for it on fourth down, with their ability to convert a partial contributor to San Francisco ranking ninth in the NFL in the rate of offensive series that result in either a first down or a touchdown.
Of course, the 49ers want to stay out of fourth down by doing better on early downs. However, consistent fourth-down success gives them another avenue through which to extend drives, control the clock and...
