Eddy Pineiro of the San Francisco 49ers makes a field goal during an NFL game against the Tennessee Titans on Dec. 14, 2025, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

To say that the worst years of the 49ers’ special teams are behind them would be an understatement.

An analysis from Mike Sando, a senior NFL writer for the Athletic, found that San Francisco’s special teams have improved from last season to this season more than any other team’s unit has this century. 

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This is according to expected points added, or EPA, an efficiency statistic that determines the net value of something in football through points. Through the TruMedia model that Sando used, the EPA per game of the Niners’ special teams is up 7.1, or more than a touchdown, through 14 games. One would have to go back to 2003 to find the next-highest jump, when Washington’s formerly named football team saw a leap of 5.7 per game, albeit through an entire 16-game season.

It wasn’t that long ago that this part of the game was a black mark on head coach

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