The red-zone offense still needs work

The Niners offense found itself struggling when inside Detroit’s 20-yard line.

A few drives in particular:

• The 49ers offense drove the ball down the field to the opposing 10-yard line on their first drive. Then they gave up two consecutive sacks and instead had to settle for a field goal.
• On the fourth drive for the offense, they started on the Detroit 16-yard line thanks to an Elijah Lee sack and fumble that gave the ball back to the offense. Unfortunately, the team only came away with three points once again after a 3-and-out.
• Finally, on the team’s last scoring drive, they rushed their way to the Lions 15-yard line. They could’ve ended the game if they didn’t call anything too aggressive and remained conservative. However, they tried a jet sweep to wide receiver Dante Pettis and botched the handoff. The 49ers recovered it but still ended up with three points.

This offense isn’t going to be feared if they can’t end drives in the red zone without touchdowns. That’s three extra points and a possible fourth that could end the game early for the team.

Fortunately enough, they still came away with points each of these times. We should count our blessings for kicker Robbie Gould.