The San Francisco 49ers stacked up the highest total of hidden special teams points since 2017 last season, but let's be real, a lot of it was pure football sorcery. They somehow dodged bullet after bullet, primarily because their opponents were just comically bad at kicking field goals.
Their Special Teams Was a Total Mess... Until Last Year's "Competence"
Before last season, the Niners' special teams units were a total disaster. Back in 2023, even when their offense was tearing it up, their special teams ranked 25th in DVOA and they were bottom-three in net kickoff and punt returns. You didn't even notice the awful field position because you just knew their offense would bail them out. But 2024? Forget about it. They finished 31st in DVOA, with field goal, kickoff, kickoff return, and punt teams all scraping the bottom five. Calling that a mess is a huge understatement, honestly. Last season (2025) finally felt like the first time under Kyle Shanahan that the 49ers had some clue what they were doing on special teams. Seriously, they were the fifth-best team on kickoff returns by DVOA. Brian Robinson Jr. averaged a killer 29.1 yards per return, and Skyy Moore wasn't far behind at 27.5 yards. Problem? Neither of those guys is even on the roster anymore. Now, it's Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins, and undrafted free agent Will Pauling battling it out at OTAs. And rookie Kaelon Black? Shanahan might be tempted to unleash his explosive ability, even though he only did it a handful of times in college. Punt returns got a bit better too, ranking ninth-best thanks to Moore. But finding a solid punt returner has been a long-running struggle for Shanahan. They've cycled through practically everyone, and nobody's really stuck. Moore's decision-making was shaky at best before he finally "turned a corner." Right now, it looks like it's Jordan Watkins' job to lose.Relying on Opponent Blunders Isn't a Strategy
Here's where it gets wild: for all the bad injuries the 49ers had in 2025, they were equally as lucky on special teams. I mean, they even blocked an extra point in Week 5 against the Rams. But the biggest chunk of that "hidden points" total? Their opponents lost a staggering 20.5 points of value on field goals last year. Twenty point five! Their opponents only made 21 of 32 field goals, which is a whopping 20% below the league average. None of those were blocks, just pure misses. You can't explain that with Xs and Os; that's just pure, unadulterated luck. It's like the football gods were trying to balance out their injury woes. Eddy Pineiro, their own kicker, was pretty consistent, missing only a rushed 64-yard attempt in Week 17. His solid performance combined with the other teams' utterly terrible kicking added up to that record-setting hidden points total since 2017. But here's the cold, hard truth: that kind of sorcery isn't sustainable. You just can't bank on other teams being comically bad at kicking field goals year after year. The 49ers might have felt competent on special teams last year, but a huge chunk of that was pure opponent blunders. They've got new returners to figure out for this season. If those guys don't step up and if opposing kickers remember how to kick, then those "hidden points" are gonna disappear faster than a hot dog vendor at the fifth inning. Shanahan needs to find actual competence, not just rely on luck.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.