Green Bay Packers: 6 Stats to Know About San Francisco 49ers
By Paul Bretl
It’s a quick turnaround with a Monday Night game this past week, but it is time to begin shifting our focus to the Green Bay Packers matchup this coming Sunday with the San Francisco 49ers.
The Niners enter the game 2-0 with wins over Detroit and Philadelphia. They have a potent pass-rush and an offense that can put up points quickly under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
As a part of my preview to help get ready for this game, I will be taking a look at six key stats about this 49ers team that Green Bay Packers fans should know.
52 pressures
Despite all of the changes that have taken place along the Green Bay Packers offensive line to begin the season, overall, the unit has held up fairly well these first two weeks. However, Sunday they will be faced with the difficult task of going up against this San Francisco defensive front–particularly their edge rushers.
Led by Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, and Dee Ford, the Niners have tallied 52 pressures over these first two games, which is the third-most in football at this point, according to PFF ($$). For some context, the Packers have 26 pressures.
These 49ers’ pass-rushers become even more of a concern than what they already are given the uncertainty surrounding Elgton Jenkins’ status for the game. He missed Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury.
5.0 yards per carry allowed
As good as this 49ers pass-rush has been, they have struggled to stop the run early on this season. Through two games, the Niners have allowed 5.0 yards per rush, which ranks 28th in football, while the 133.5 rushing yards per game that they’ve given up ranks 27th. Although it’s worth mentioning that those stats may be a little inflated by Jalen Hurts’ performance last Sunday.
Between Weeks 1 and 2, we’ve seen the positive effects that running the ball and getting Aaron Jones involved can have on this Green Bay Packers offense. So for that reason alone, we will hopefully see them lean on the run game once again, and they will hopefully find some success against this defense.
But in addition to that very big aspect of it, running the ball successfully will mitigate the 49er pass rush and keep the Niners’ offense off the field.
7 Pressures Allowed
While the Niner edge rushers are creating pressures, on the other side of the ball, the offensive line is not allowing them. Per PFF, the 49ers’ offensive line have given up only seven pressures this season along with no sacks.
Of course, the offensive line unit deserves credit for their play, but according to NFL NextGen Stats, Jimmy Garoppolo holds the ball on average for 2.47 seconds, which is tied for the fourth-lowest time to throw in football–meaning that he gets the ball out quickly.
For a Green Bay Packers defense that has already struggled to generate consistent pressure, they’ll really be tested this week.
282 yards
This is how many receiving yards wide receiver Deebo Samuel has this season, which is the most in the NFL through two games. Against Detroit, Samuel had a monster game, totaling nine receptions and 189 yards. Although he didn’t see anywhere near that level of production against Philadelphia, he still put up 93 yards.
Samuel is a chess piece for Kyle Shanahan, able to line up out wide, in the slot, as well as in the backfield. He will be a matchup problem for this Green Bay Packers’ defense.
Red zone success, 3rd down efficiency, and turnovers
These are three of the biggest stats that can define any football game. For San Francisco, they’ve had varying degrees of success through two weeks in these categories.
The 49ers’ offense has been in the red zone four times this season and scored a touchdown on all four possessions. Defensively, however, they have allowed a touchdown on four of the five possessions that their opponents have been inside their 20-yard line.
On third downs, the Niner offense has converted 39.1 percent of their attempts, which ranks 19th, while the defense has allowed a third-down conversion only 33 percent of the time, and that is the seventh-best rate in football.
When it comes to turnover differential, San Francisco sits at -1, with two giveaways by the offense and one takeaway from the defense.
5 Running backs
Due to injuries, this is how many running backs have at least one carry already this season. To make matters worse for San Francisco, their top two running backs in terms of carries this season, Elijah Mitchell and JaMycal Hasty, both missed practice on Wednesday.
Despite the injuries and constant shuffling within the running back room, this season the Niner running backs are still averaging 4.7 yards per rush, and as we’ve seen in the past, San Francisco has had a lot of success running the ball against Green Bay. So although there may not be the same name recognition as in the past, don’t let that fool you.