It was a dominant showing by the 49ers defense
The 49ers were dominant on Thanksgiving in Seattle. The defense put together another strong performance. In particular, the 49ers secondary was downright nasty. Seattle’s passing attack was stifled all night, only amassing 132 passing yards and 220 total yards on Thursday.
Let’s look at the snap counts and defensive grades for the 49ers defense, according to Pro Football Focus.
Defensive Line – Nick Bosa 49 (89.7), Javon Hargrave 40 (57.4), Arik Armstead 32 (82.2), Chase Young 26 (64.4), Javon Kinlaw 22 (60.9), Clelin Ferrell 19 (68.7), Kevin Givens 18 (63.9), Randy Gregory 18 (66.3)
Twenty-five total pressures for the 49ers’ defense and 22 for the defensive line, led by Nick Bosa’s nine. Bosa chipped in three sacks, as well. Oh, and Bosa was the highest-graded pass rusher at 86.7. Finally, Bosa finished with a whopping 31.3 percent win rate. A great day at the office for Nick Bosa.
Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave finished with three pressures and two sacks apiece. Javon Kinlaw and Clelin Ferrell had two pressures on 15 and 11 pass rush reps, respectively.
Linebackers – Dre Greenlaw 56 (69.1), Fred Warner 56 (88.5), Oren Burks 12 (74.6)
Fred Warner received universal praise for his grades on Thursday night. Warner was the third highest graded defender at 88.5 and finished with an 81.5 run defense grade, 79.3 tackling, 78.1 pass rushing, and a 75.0 coverage grade.
Dre Greenlaw led the team with eight tackles and finished with a 75.7 run defense grade. Oren Burks chipped in two tackles in 12 total snaps.
Secondary – Ji’Ayir Brown 56 (73.9), Deommodore Lenoir 56 (66.8), Tashaun Gipson Sr. 56 (63.9), Charvarius Ward 52 (74.2), Ambry Thomas 46 (90.2), Isaiah Oliver 2 (62.5)
Where do we start with this group? Let’s start with the highest-graded defensive and coverage player, Ambry Thomas. Two receptions allowed on four targets for 16 yards and a PBU and interception. Thomas’s coverage grade was 90.5 in 32 coverage snaps. An impressive night for the third-round pick.
If you were wondering where D.K. Metcalf was on Thursday night, don’t worry, Metcalf was on the field. But Charvarius Ward turned in his best performance as a 49er. Ward was tasked with following Metcalf, and Metcalf finished with three receptions for 32 yards on nine targets. Ward was targeted ten times and allowed four receptions for 44 yards with three PBUs, and an NFL rating of 53.8.
Ji’Ayir Brown’s first start at safety couldn’t have gone much better. Brown allowed three catches for 13 yards. Solid start for the rookie on national TV.