As we saw, the offense let the defense down. The defense played surprisingly well
Thursday’s loss to the Rams was full of surprises. Dre Greenlaw returned and looked as sharp as ever, De’Vondre Campbell quit the team, and the 49ers’ offense had an anemic showing. Sure, the rain in the first half affected the two teams, but the second half was relatively dry. The 49ers’ offense was the most disappointing unit on Thursday. Was that the biggest surprise? It’s up there, but it’s not number one on my list.
My biggest surprise is how well the 49ers defense played despite the team walking off the field with a loss. The 49ers allowed a season-low 12 points on Thursday. For large parts of the game, the team’s secondary was stingy. Yes, the coverage bust on the critical third-down in the fourth quarter is what will be remembered, but this was by far the team’s best performance.
Let’s start with Greenlaw. Seven tackles on 30 snaps is insane. Greenlaw’s return energized the defense and led to Fred Warner’s best game in a while, with eleven tackles and several big stops. Twenty-six total defensive stops are a product of Greenlaw’s energy and commitment to high effort.
The 49ers defensive line produced 20 pressures, four QB hits, 16 hurries, and zero sacks. It was a great showing despite not bringing Matthew Stafford to the ground. Nick Bosa led the team with six pressures, followed by Maliek Collins with four and Yetur Gross-Matos with three.
The 49ers pass-rush win percentage on Thursday:
Jordan Elliott – 50%
Nick Bosa – 41.7%
Maliek Collins – 33.3%
Leonard Floyd – 28.6%
Yetur Gross-Matos – 25%
Kalia Davis – 25%
Evan Anderson – 20%
The secondary was incredible on Thursday. By the end of the first half, Stafford had 11 passing yards. Renardo Green wasn’t targeted once on 28 coverage snaps. Cooper Kupp put up a blank sheet. Through four quarters, the 49ers allowed 160 passing yards total. Deommodore Lenoir was the highest-graded secondary member with a coverage grade of 76.5.
The only blemishes on the secondary’s record for Thursday are the busted coverages on the deep completion to Puka Nacua, which was more on Tashaun Gipson than Mooney Ward, and the third-down conversion that Hufanga moved out of position and led to the Rams running out the clock.
The reason the 49ers’ defense was the biggest surprise from Thursday is after facing an offense that put up 40 plus points on the Buffalo Bills; the defense turned in a gem in a must-win game. The 49ers offense let them down. If a team only scores four field goals, your offense should be able to outscore them.
What do you think? What was the biggest surprise for you on Thursday?