The San Francisco 49ers just came off their best defensive showing of the season in their biggest game yet, and guess who was on the receiving end of that “outstanding” performance? Our Seattle Seahawks. Yeah, that thrilling win they had over us wasn’t just a tough loss, it was a defensive clinic where the Niners forced four turnovers, sacked Sam Darnold five times, and held our offense to a brutal 30 percent success rate. It’s rough, folks.
Our Offense Couldn’t Get *Anything* Going
Watching that game, it felt like the 49ers’ defense was everywhere. Their front was dominating against both the run and the pass, their linebackers were flying around, and their secondary? Forget about it. They were thriving in coverage, making life incredibly difficult for Sam Darnold and our receiving group. Yeah, Jaxon Smith-Njigba wasn’t fully healthy, which didn’t help, but outside of him, the source is saying we were “light on difference-makers.” That stings, because it tells you exactly why we struggled so hard to move the ball. Our Emerald City boys just couldn’t break through, and those five sacks on Darnold? That’s just unacceptable.
Raheem Morris Is Building a Monster in Santa Clara
All that defensive prowess from our rivals isn’t just happening by accident. Head coach Kyle Shanahan is absolutely gushing about his defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris. Shanahan called him “one of the best people and best coaches I’ve ever been around,” even admitting he tried to get Morris years ago. This year, Morris has done an “unbelievable job,” especially with their injuries, mixing things up schematically. But the real kicker for us? Shanahan specifically highlighted the “confidence he’s given our DBs and the way they’ve been playing since training camp.”
And boy, did we see that confidence firsthand. Renardo Green is having a breakout year at corner, snagging three interceptions in five games, with *two of those picks coming against us in Seattle*. His passer rating when targeted is a minuscule 45.0, good for seventh among all corners. Deommodore Lenoir, while not having the same flashy numbers, had a lockdown performance against Courtland Sutton in their Week 4 win over the Broncos. Plus, their safeties Marques Sigle, Ji’Ayir Brown, and Malik Mustapha are all producing impressive plays. This 49ers defense has clearly taken huge strides this year, sitting third in the NFL by Expected Points Added per play and eighth in the NFL by success rate. It’s a stark improvement over last year, and it looks like Morris is the guy pulling the strings.
It’s a tough pill to swallow when a rival’s success comes at our expense, and hearing Shanahan praise his coordinator for turning their secondary into playmakers who feast on our offense? That’s a gut punch. The challenge for the 49ers now is to keep this tremendous start going. For us, the challenge is clear: figure out how to counter a defense that just made our offense look completely lost. We know what’s at stake every time we face these guys, and after this performance, the pressure is on our offense to come back stronger.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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