There’s something cyclical about the way the 49ers beat the Seahawks Sunday. With a healthy blend of run and pass, well-executed bend-but-don’t-break defense, and timely special teams play, the 49ers enjoyed the victory using the Seahawks’ template.
Quarterback Nick Mullens may be the most noticeable star of the current two-game winning streak, but the most important breakthrough is the improved play of the 49ers defense. Using mostly rookies and second-year players, the 49ers are starting to see the potential of Robert Saleh’s 4-3, Cover-3 scheme, which Seattle popularized earlier this decade.
Richard Sherman, giddy after beating his former team, basically gave a rundown of the defense, and how the 49ers are slowly starting to get it.
“It’s built on, guys up front putting pressure on the quarterback, and guys in the back end limiting explosives,” Sherman said postgame. “The plays come because guys get bored. Guys get tired of taking a five-yard check down or two-yard gain or three-yard gain here. They just force the ball deep down the field. If you don’t force passes against this defense, it’s going to be a real long game. It’s going to be really hard to make a play.”
By those measures, the 49ers defense has recently executed, allowing 23 and 14 points in its past two games.
Explosive plays consist of gains of 15 rushing yards or 20 passing yards. The 49ers have allowed 38 such rush plays and 41 such pass plays, both ranking No. 12 in the NFL. Out of those 79 explosive plays in 14 games, the 49ers have allowed just 31 in the past seven games.
Earlier in the season, the 49ers fell victim to inexplicable coverage busts that seemed to resurface every week.
Like the first defensive play of Week 5.
And the first defensive play of Week 6.
Those issues have steadily subsided as the season has progressed. The 49ers have forced opposing offenses to earn their points by methodically marching downfield, a simple concept this defensive scheme is built upon. The Seattle game showed this — the Seahawks scored touchdowns on drives of nine plays, eight plays, and 10 plays. The 49ers allowed six explosive plays Sunday, which is actually their most in the second half of the season, but none achieved greater than 35 yards.
“It wasn’t like their points came easy,” Sherman said. “That’s what this defense is built on. You got to understand that we are doing this with guys who have really played probably less than 100 snaps in their careers, especially in the back end.”
The 49ers finished the game by deploying rookies at right cornerback (Tarvarius Moore), nickel corner (D.J. Reed), and strong safety (Marcell Harris). Elijah Lee, who had just four tackles in his rookie season last year, and rookie Fred Warner anchored the linebacker spots. The defensive line featured players in their second seasons (Solomon Thomas and D.J. Jones) and third season (DeForest Buckner). Antone Exum, who has played sparingly throughout a four-year career, Arik Armstead, and Sherman were San Francisco’s only defensive veterans consistently on the field.
Yet the 49ers played some of their best defense of the season. Several rookies or sophomores made clutch plays, in either the fourth quarter or overtime, that held off a Seahawks comeback, including:
- On second-and-15, and the Seahawks marching, Harris overcame three Seahawks blockers to stop running back Mike Davis on a screen play for nine yards. The Seahawks settled for a field goal after Buckner’s sack.
- Thomas got backfield pressure that resulted in Buckner’s sack. Thomas also drew a crucial holding penalty.
- Moore forced incompletions on consecutive plays in the fourth quarter to force a punt, which led to overtime.
The 49ers strung together three straight defensive stops to close out the game. Two weeks after allowing 37 points (excluding Bobby Wagner’s 98-yard interception return) to the Seahawks, they allowed 23 points.
Throughout recent weeks, the 49ers forced opponents to grind out drives. That includes buckling down on short third-down opportunities, which San Francisco typically wins.
According to NFL Matchup on ESPN, the 49ers entered Sunday allowing first downs on third-and-1 and third-and-2 just 46 percent of the time, which leads the NFL. In three such situations against the Seahawks, the 49ers allowed just one first down.
The 49ers rush defense — anchored by Buckner and Armstead, two 6-foot-7-plus behemoths — ranks No. 11 in the NFL with 4.2 yards per attempt. Seattle’s Chris Carson (119 rushing yards on Sunday) was the first opposing running back to eclipse more than 104 rushing yards against the 49ers this season.
Despite their recent success, there are some obvious weaknesses the 49ers need to address in the offseason, including finding a dynamic edge rusher and the right safety combination. Ronald Blair leads all 49ers edge rushers with just 5.5 sacks. The 49ers have cycled seven players in and out of the two safety spots, a result of attrition.
The lack of pass rush and opportunistic secondary have contributed to the 49ers’ inability to force turnovers. The 49ers, astoundingly, have not forced a turnover in the past six games. They have forced just five turnovers all season. The fewest turnovers in a non-strike NFL season is 11, shared by three different teams. Barring a significant turnaround, that unfortunate tag is soon to belong to these 49ers.
That presence Sherman speaks of — “guys up front putting pressure on the quarterback” — has been missing.
It’s actually remarkable the San Francisco defense has played this well recently despite the lack of takeaways. That should yield optimism that, if the 49ers can acquire the right difference-makers at those impact positions in future months, this unit could blossom into a top-half defense next year.