San Francisco 49ers Full Season Team Report Card
The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Los Angeles Rams with a score of 34-13 in the last week of regular season football. Read on for full season grades!
So San Francisco 49ers fans, the 2017 regular season is officially over. After a terrible start to the season, the 49ers ended it with a flourish, riding a five game-winning streak winning streak into the postseason. A streak that made them the hottest team in the NFL to close the year.
The 49ers didn’t lose a game in December, in large part, to the play of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, which seemed to have elevated everybody else’s abilities around him.
The San Francisco 49ers started the season 0-9, losing five games by a total of 13 points. Yes, 13 points. If the 49ers had a legitimate quarterback to start the year, they probably could be talking playoffs right now.
But, there’s no sense in worrying about those games now that the 49ers have found their future quarterback in Garoppolo.
With Garoppolo under center, San Francisco’s future looks very different, and much brighter indeed.
Let’s get into the full season grades for each unit!
Offense
At times, this offense was really unwatchable. The 49ers were one of the league leaders in dropped passes this season, totaling more than 25, which did nothing to help the cause.
Before Garoppolo took over, here are some of the offensive stats and the corresponding league ranking:
Offensive yards per game: 321.7 (21st in NFL)
Points per game: 17.0 (28th)
Yards per play: 4.9 (24th)
Passing yards per game: 221.8 (17th)
Completion Percentage: 56.6 (31st)
Total QBR: 32.4 (28th)
Rushing yards per game: 99.9 (23rd)
If either Brian Hoyer or C.J. Beathard was still the starting quarterback, these stats wouldn’t be much different and you could easily give the offensive unit a solid F, or a D- if you wanted to be generous.
Now, take a look at the stats and the corresponding league ranking after Garoppolo took over:
Offensive yards per game: 410.0 (3rd)
Points per game: 28.8 (5th)
Yards per play: 6.1 (4th)
Passing yards per game: 297 (3rd)
Completion Percentage: 67 (6th)
Total QBR: 80.0 (1st)
Rushing yards per game: 113.0 (16th)
The 49ers also shot up to third in time of possession, holding the ball on offense for an average of 32:54 per game. Before Garoppolo, the 49ers ranked 31st in the same category.
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It’s unbelievable how quick this offense put it all together and turned everything around by changing out the quarterback. The quick turnaround that allowed the team to win five straight games and make this offense watchable again leads to a deserving high grade.
The hard work in practice paid off and 2018 looks bright for this offense if they can build a powerful offensive line and give Garoppolo additional weapons.
Red zone efficiency is also something the 49ers need to improve on because they struggled too often and had to settle for field goals, like in the Chicago Bears game (a 15-14 win that featured no touchdowns).
Grade: A
Defense
With the rejuvenation of the offense, the defense also seemed to wake up, and that was mainly due to the increased time of possession for the offense under Garoppolo. The 49ers defense got additional rest and performed much better as a result.
Take a look at these defensive stats before and during Garoppolo’s time as the starter.
| Defensive yards allowed/game | 374.2 (28th) | 301.8 (7th) |
| Defensive yards allowed/play | 5.41 (18th) | 4.96 (9th) |
| Points allowed/game | 25.82 (28th) | 19.8 (T-9th) |
You can see more stats here — and major props go to Nick Wagoner of ESPN for providing these mind-boggling numbers.
The young, but potential filled defense struggled majorly in the beginning of the season thanks to poor offensive play. But then, Garoppolo arrived and changed everything. Literally. The 49ers went from being one of the worst defenses in the league, to having a top 10 defense in three of the biggest categories.
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With young talent like DeForest Buckner, Reuben Foster, and Adrian Colbert (there are plenty more on that defense), this defense will be much, much better next season when healthy and with a few more playmakers brought in either through the draft or free agency.
The defense lacked consistency at times, especially during the end of the second quarter, where they always seemed to let teams score.
They also struggled to get interceptions (until the end of the season) and they lacked sacks. Elvis Dumervil led the team in the sack category.
The defense did force the second most fumbles in the league, however. With young and veteran talent alike, there is a bright future for this Robert Saleh coordinated defense.
Grade: A-
Special Teams
The San Francisco 49ers struck the jackpot when they signed Robbie Gould. He had a fantastic first season with the 49ers, similar to previous 49er kickers.
Gould finished the season 39/41 in field goals, nailing 4/4 from 50 yards plus. He hit clutch field goals that led to wins against the Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans.
Bradley Pinion had an average of 43.4 yards per punt, ranking him twentieth in all punting stats. The punt coverage for the 49ers was also phenomenal, as the 4.2 yards per punt return for opponents tied the 49ers for first in that category.
Raheem Mostert proved to be a huge special teams player. The 49ers allowed one punt return for a touchdown against Tarik Cohen and the Bears. On kick returns for opposing teams, the 49ers allowed 20.1 yards per return.
The 49ers themselves only had 18.4 yards per return. There were no kicks or punts returned for a touchdown in 2017 for San Francisco.
Robbie Gould and the punt coverage unit are the saviors for this grade. The return ability should be improved next season, with Victor Bolden looking to be the starting return man.
Grade: B+
Overall, the first season for Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch was definitely a success. They found their franchise quarterback and have young talent on offense and defense they need to build around. The 2018 hype train is real!