The San Francisco 49ers had a lot of issues across the board in 2016. But inarguably, their last-place run defense was the most damaging.
If an opponent can sustain drives and consume the clock with large running plays consistently, you simply cannot win.
Poor Niners defensive line and linebacker play equated to an invitation for teams to open up their run-game playbooks with great effect. And the 49ers didn’t have the offensive wherewithal to counteract what other teams’ offenses were trying to do.
49ers
Head coach Kyle Shanahan likes to be varied with his play-calling and keep defenses guessing.