The San Francisco 49ers received a bit of a wake-up call with their Week 2 loss against the Minnesota Vikings. Both sides of the ball could use a lot of improvement, but the defense needs to improve in one key area in particular.
On the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Josh Dubow of AP highlighted the fact the Niners have allowed opponents to convert on 3rd-and-7 yards-plus a total of eight out of 11 times so far this season.
The rest of the NFL has allowed a 22-percent conversion rate of 3rd-and-7 or longer.
This is very alarming.
It immediately brings to mind the 3rd-and-15 the Kansas City Chiefs converted against the Niners in the 2020 Super Bowl loss and does not reflect well on this defense early on.
Allowing third-down conversions was a huge problem against the Vikings. Outside of linebacker Fred Warner, San Francisco's defense did not play great in Minnesota. The defensive line deserves blame for not getting pressure on quarterback Sam Darnold consistently enough, and the secondary deserves blame for not being sound enough in coverage.
First-year defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen was tasked with creating more cohesion on defense. There was a sense that under former coordinator Steve Wilks last season, the defense was not playing in unison enough, which led to problems and disjointed efforts.
The poor performance in Minnesota is a key early test for Sorensen and the defense as a whole. Cleaning up the sloppiness on third down is absolutely essential. Allowing numerous third-down conversions extends drives and obviously makes it more likely opponents will score. But even if they don't score, it means the defense is having to expend more energy by being out on the field longer, which can have ramifications later in the game.
Perhaps part of this has to do with the fact the 49ers are missing two of their best defenders in linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga, who suffered serious injuries last season. Maybe once they get those two players back and they get back in the swing of things, the defense will start to fire on all cylinders.
In the meantime, though, the Niners have to play better on defense. There is a lot they need to clean up, but the most important thing they can do is stop their opponents on 3rd-and-long.
Let's hope they can start doing that against a depleted Los Angeles Rams offense in Week 3.
