San Francisco 49ers: The good, bad, and ugly in week two win over Lions

Bad: Third Down Efficiency

Being able to move the chains, and take some time off the clock, by extending drives is essential to winning ballgames. The last thing you want to do is have a quick three-and-out, and give your opponent plenty of time to move down the field and score.

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And one big key in extending drives is being able to convert your third down opportunities – which is something the 49ers didn’t do a terrific job of against the Lions.

After the Lions scored to cut their deficit to ten points, 30-20, at that point, Garoppolo and the offense came out and took exactly 2:28 off the clock, running three plays, and netting minus-one yard. They were forced to punt it away on fourth down.

Detroit got the ball back, and promptly drove it down the field, Stafford leading a 12-play, 79-yard drive, capping it with a 15-yard touchdown toss to Michael Roberts, cutting further into the lead, and making it tense at 30-27.

Garoppolo and the 49ers got the ball back again, with a chance to milk the clock, and put the game out of reach, but they took just 2:19 off the clock, running six plays for 18 yards, before they had to punt it away again, giving the Lions one last gasp.

For the day, the 49ers converted just three of their 11 third down opportunities. That’s a 27 percent success rate. That’s not going to get it done. The 49ers need to improve their third down conversion efficiency, or they’re going to find themselves in a lot of nail biters.