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Suffocating to serviceable? 49ers’ defense trending in wrong direction
There’s no longer talk about the 49ers’ defense reaching the level of historically...
There’s no longer talk about the 49ers’ defense reaching the level of historically great units such as the 1985 Bears, 2000 Ravens or 2013 Seahawks.
Why? Because for nearly two months, it hasn’t looked like the imposing unit it was early in the season.
Thanks to a stiffer schedule and a host of injuries, the 49ers’ second-ranked defense, downright scary in its first seven games, has been closer to serviceable in the past seven games.
Consider:
• The 49ers allowed the second-fewest points per game (11) in the NFL from Weeks 1-8 (their bye was in Week 4). Since then, they’ve allowed the 24th most (25.9).
• After setting a franchise record by posting at least three sacks in eight straight games, they’ve managed just three combined in their past three games.
• After setting the tone in their season opener with three interceptions, two of which they returned for touchdowns, they’ve had one interception in their past seven games.
• Finally, in their past three games — a win against the Saints and losses against the Ravens and Falcons — the defense has allowed a go-ahead score in the final minute.
In October, after the 49ers limited quarterback Jared Goff to 48 net passing yards and didn’t allow a point in the final 54 minutes of a 20-7 road win over the defending NFC champion Rams, it didn’t seem as if the lofty standard cornerback Richard Sherman’s spelled out was unattainable.
“We aspire every year to be compared to one of the great defenses of all time: the ’85 Bears, the 2000 Ravens, and the (1970s Steelers) ‘Steel Curtain,’” Sherman said.
Two months later, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh suggested Wednesday the 49ers couldn’t maintain that level of early-season domination, particularly given the injuries they’ve suffered.
“From a statistical standpoint, it was almost historic over those first eight games,” Saleh said. “I almost feel like we kind of spoiled people. We’ve still been playing good. … It’s something that we’ve got to just continue to keep grinding and getting better with the different guys that are coming in and out of the lineup.”
In their past seven games, the 49ers have had five season-opening starters miss a total of 13 games because of injuries. Another starter, Pro Bowl pass rusher Dee Ford, has played just 24 snaps over the past five games because of a hamstring strain.
“Football is a game of tiny, tiny, tiny things,” rookie defensive end Nick Bosa said. “And when you lose a lot of guys with a lot of experience, and you don’t have them on the field, then those little things show up. It’s going to take the guys that are out there to fix those little things. But I think we’ll be just fine.”
The 49ers’ strongest position group, the defensive line, has absorbed season-ending injuries that have wiped out much of that pass-rushing depth. Edge rusher Ronald Blair and his replacement, Damontre Moore, are both on season-ending injured reserve.
Defensive drop-off
The 49ers’ defense — which was rock solid in the first seven games of the season — has stumbled a bit since then. A look at several key categories in the 49ers’ first seven games and the seven games since then:
Points allowed
| Total (Avg.) | NFL rank |
Games 1-7 | 77 (11) | 2 |
Games 8-14 | 181 (25.9) | 24 |
Yards allowed
| Total (Avg.) | NFL rank |
Games 1-7 | 1,571 (224.4) | 1 |
Games 8-14 | 2,195 (313.6) | 7 |
Sacks
| Total (Avg.) | NFL rank |
Games 1-7 | 27 (3.9) | 3 |
Games 8-14 | 20 (2.9) | T9 |
Takeaways
| Total (Avg.) | NFL rank |
Games 1-7 | 16 (2.3) | T3 |
Games 8-14 | 10 (1.4) | T17 |
Interceptions
| Total (Avg.) | NFL rank | |
| Games 1-7 | 10 (1.4) | T2 |
| Games 8-14 | 1 (0.14) | 32 |
Instead of bringing defensive linemen in waves and keeping them fresh, the 49ers have had to send the same players at opposing quarterbacks: Bosa, Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner have missed an average of only 7.1 snaps over the past three games.
“We’ve got to find ways to get more of a rotation going,” Saleh said.
The 49ers also have been going against vastly superior quarterbacks.
In their first seven games, the 49ers didn’t face a QB who is currently ranked among the NFL’s top 17 in passer rating. In fact, four of the QBs they played — Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton, Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield, Pittsburgh’s Mason Rudolph and Carolina’s Kyle Allen — have the league’s four lowest quarterback ratings among qualified passers.
In their past seven games, the 49ers have faced five QBs ranked among the league’s top 13 in passer rating. And the other two games have been against Arizona’s promising rookie Kyler Murray, the No. 1 pick who threw four touchdown passes with no interceptions and rushed for 101 yards and a score against the 49ers.
The 49ers have lost to Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Seattle’s Russell Wilson and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan. New Orleans’ Drew Brees had five touchdown passes against them in a 48-46 loss.
And, of course, the 49ers are likely to keep facing elite QBs in the playoffs.
Are they up for the challenge? One game over the past two months showed they can summon their early-season domination against a future Hall of Famer: In November, in a 37-8 win over Green Bay, they limited Aaron Rodgers to 66 net passing yards and sacked him five times.
It wasn’t the 1985 Bears, but the 49ers would be happy to take that early 2019 version of their defense to the postseason.
