The San Francisco 49ers are about to kick off their NFL season Thursday night in Australia against the Los Angeles Rams, but before that rivalry ignites, let’s talk about last season’s numbers. Something wild is staring us right in the face: 49ers quarterbacks finished 27th in the league with a 2.79% interception rate in 2025. You think that’s rough? Get this: our very own Seattle Seahawks actually had a higher interception rate at a staggering 3.12%.
The Ground Game’s Misfire
Okay, so the Niners’ passing game had its moments, sitting 5th highest in the league with a 0.12 EPA/pass, which helped them finish 8th overall in EPA/play. Pretty decent, right? But let’s be real, their ground game last season? Yikes. Christian McCaffrey was getting targeted a ton, 23.5% of the time, more than guys like CeeDee Lamb. Kyle Shanahan is a master at creating space and mismatches for him. So you’d think they’d be tearing it up on the ground, right? Wrong. The 49ers ranked a measly 16th in the NFL with a 42.4% success rate on rushing plays. Middle of the pack for a Shanahan offense? That’s just…not right. McCaffrey himself was 37th in EPA/rush, only getting 0.97 yards before contact, which puts him 46th in the league. On those outside zone runs, that number dipped even further to a pathetic 0.63 yards. If their offense is gonna be “burning bright” like the article says, that EPA/pass has to climb, but more importantly, their run game needs to find another gear.
21 Personnel: All Gas, No Rush?
Now, let’s talk about their famous 21 personnel. These guys are all about it, leading the entire NFL with 393 snaps out of that grouping last season, a whopping 36.32% rate. Only the Baltimore Ravens are even close! And it’s no surprise, with Kyle Juszczyk, “Juice,” still on the roster. They use that veteran fullback to identify coverages and to carve out lanes in the running game. You’d think that would translate to a dominant run game out of this formation, right? Nope. They finished tenth with a NEGATIVE -0.02 EPA/rush from 21 personnel. Seriously? The good news for them is that the pass game from this grouping bumped it up to a 0.18 EPA/pass, giving them the highest total EPA from 21 personnel. So while the rest of the league goes small, the 49ers are sticking with McCaffrey and Juice on the field together, and that trend isn’t going anywhere.
So, yeah, the 49ers are heading into their season opener against the Rams in Australia with some serious questions about their offense. Especially when it comes to turning the ball over. We saw it last season, with their quarterbacks hitting a 2.79% interception rate, 27th in the league. And hey, we know that pain in Seattle, because our Hawks were even worse at 3.12%! The source mentions that when your defense is dominant, it can bail you out. That’s the key, isn’t it? The 49ers’ defense is expected to improve, which is good, because apparently “it’s almost impossible to be worse in certain metrics” than last year. But still, Brock Purdy’s got to clean it up. He takes those calculated risks, which we love to see, but limiting those picks and turnovers overall is the BIGGEST improvement needed in his game. You don’t want to take away his fire, but you gotta be smart with the ball. They kick off Thursday night. Can they keep the ball out of enemy hands? We’ll be watching.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Niners Nation.
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