The 49ers are peaking in the most important area of football

The San Francisco 49ers pulled off a 20-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Monday night, improving to 8-4 on the season and recording back-to-back wins as they look to make a playoff push.

With the win, the 49ers remained as the No. 7 seed in the NFC Playoff Picture, staying a half game above the Detroit Lions in the very competitive conference.

It was a defensive masterclass for the 49ers, as they overcame three Brock Purdy interceptions and had a few takeaways themselves to get a crucial win.

When the 49ers did have opportunities offensively, they capitalized, going 2/3 in the red zone with a pair of long touchdown drives that distanced themselves from Carolina, both early and in the third quarter.

The red zone has been an area where the 49ers have seen differing results this season. Early in the year, they were not up to par in the red zone, as the team especially struggled to run the ball inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. While getting near the most touches in the red zone, Christian McCaffrey was one of the least efficient backs over the first few weeks of the season.

So, the 49ers only converted 42.9 percent of their red zone looks into touchdowns over the first six weeks of the season. Since then, though, San Francisco has been on fire, converting 18 of their 22 red zone drives into touchdowns, good for an 81.9 percent touchdown rate.

As a result, they’ve skyrocketed into the top 10 in red zone scoring percentage, ranking ninth after Monday’s performance. A big help has been the return of tight end George Kittle, who has been a significant presence as a blocker, as well as a receiving threat.

So far this year, Kittle is 8 for 8 on red zone catches for 67 yards and four touchdowns. His eight catches rank 11th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference, despite missing five games (and essentially six after leaving in the first quarter of Week 1).

Of course, Christian McCaffrey has also been a big help, leading the NFL with 14 catches in the red zone, going for 88 yards and five touchdowns.

But, there’s been a significant boost over the past few weeks, starting when Kittle returned against the Atlanta Falcons, in the red zone, that has increased the scoring potential of the 49ers offense.

The 49ers were dominant in the red zone back in 2023, leading the NFL by converting over 67 percent of their tries. They’re starting to revitalize that dominance over the past few weeks, getting back into a top red zone team, even as the offense has seen some injuries at quarterback and wide receiver.

It also helps that they’ve had an automatic kicker to fully capitalize when they don’t score touchdowns, but the 49ers are going to need their offense churning to make a run in the playoffs. Getting efficient results in the red zone is a big part of that, and San Francisco is showing it’s capable of doing so.