Home News Why is PFF still so high on the San Francisco 49ers?
News

Why is PFF still so high on the San Francisco 49ers?

Brock Purdy was one of the best in football, despite the impoverished cast: HOURHis 5.2% shooting percentage is just 0.3 percentage points lower than his 2023 rate, and his turnover-worthy 2.6% shooting percentage is 0.6 percentage points better than his 2023 shooting percentage. last season.

• The 49ers’ defense was relatively solid: TThe 49ers pass defense was one of the best in the league, ranking fourth with an average of -0.071 EPA per game.

• Unleash your benefits with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our seasonal fantasy tools, including weekly ratings, WR/CB Matchup Schedules, weekly forecasts, Launch and squat optimizer and much more. Register now!

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Near the top PFF Power Rating up to 7th week San Francisco 49ers – a shock for many.

Their 3-4 record doesn’t reflect preseason expectations or the fact that they were in the Super Bowl just eight months ago. But the 49ers still rank third in PFF’s rankings. Why is this?


Defender’s play

It’s the most important position in football, and the 49ers now have PFF’s top five defensive backs. Brock Purdy earned an overall PFF grade of 83.3 in seven weeks, going 138 of 216 for 1,841 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. That touchdown-to-interception ratio doesn’t look too impressive, but his 5.2% throw rate is just 0.3 percentage points lower than his 2023 clip and his turnover-worthy 2.6% completion rate. 0.6 percentage points above its mark. last season.


Offensive success

San Francisco’s offense produces 0.062 expected extra points per game, ranking sixth in the NFL. That’s lower than the 2023 regular season EPA average of 0.168 per game, but it’s still one of the best offenses in football. This is true if you look at the 49ers as a passing offense—where they rank eighth in the league with an average of 0.124 EPA per game—and when they run the ball—where their average EPA of -0.023 EPA per game ranks 11th -th place.

And they did all this without key players at various points during the season.

Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock the world’s most advanced football database!

Players returning from injury

During the first seven weeks of the season, the 49ers were without three of their top four offensive players at times. Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel And George Kittle.

McCaffrey has yet to pitch in 2024. Kittle and Samuel both returned to the practice field last week, albeit in a limited capacity, and McCaffrey they are expected to return for the team’s bye week, so they must be healthier in these spots in the second half of the season.

The 49ers just lost a wide receiver. Brandon Aiyuk to a knee injury at the end of the season, but this is somewhat compensated by the appearance Jauan Jenningswho ranks third in the NFL with a 2.75 yards per carry average and could return from injury this week.

All this to say, the 49ers have had some bad luck with injuries this season, but they are still thriving on offense. There is reason to believe that the injury situation will improve soon.


Protection is better than the narrative suggests

The rumors this season have been that the 49ers defense isn’t very good, and while they’re not currently a top-five defense in football, the unit is far from a liability.

The 49ers have allowed -0.059 EPA per game through seven weeks, which ranks 13th in the NFL. For context, they ranked eighth in 2023 with -0.065 EPA per game. The defense is only slightly worse than it was a year ago when the team went to the Super Bowl.

However, San Francisco had problems against the run, ranking 10th in the league, allowing -0.040 EPA per play when opposing teams run the ball. But this is no different from last year, when the team finished eighth with -0.046 EPA per game. Meanwhile, the 49ers’ pass defense was one of the best in the league, ranking fourth with an average of -0.071 EPA per game.

Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock the world’s most advanced football database!

The betting market agrees

If it seems strange to us at PFF that the 49ers are still considered one of the best teams in the NFL, consider that the betting markets still largely agree that they are one of the favorites to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. At +850, they currently rank fourth in betting odds, second only to Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens And Detroit Lions.

Even though the 49ers are off to a 3-4 start to the season, there’s plenty of reason to expect them to continue to be one of the NFL’s best teams as they head into the second half of the season—and there’s a good chance they’ll be right there again place. in the NFC Championship Game in January.

Source link

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

News

PFF Team of the Week and Player Awards

• Lamar Jackson on his way to his third MVP award: Jackson’s...

News

PFF Team of the Week and Player Awards

• Lamar Jackson on his way to his third MVP award: Jackson’s...

News

PFF Team of the Week and Player Awards

• Lamar Jackson on his way to his third MVP award: Jackson’s...

News

PFF Team of the Week and Player Awards

• Lamar Jackson on his way to his third MVP award: Jackson’s...