It seemed inevitable the San Francisco 49ers were going to need to try something different schematically given how the first three weeks went.
The 49ers in those games were dreadful on third downs and allowing the third-most yards per play in the NFL. It was a far cry from the dominant efforts we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from San Francisco’s defenses.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated some schematic changes may be necessary, especially once defensive tackle Javon Hargrave went down and dramatically altered the strength of the 49ers’ pass rush on the defensive front.
One of those schematic changes popped up in Sunday’s win over the Patriots when the 49ers started blitzing heavily.
Per ESPN Research, the 49ers blitzed on only 14 percent of opposing quarterback dropbacks through the first three weeks. That number skyrocketed to 33 percent against the Patriots and quarterback Jacoby Brissett on Sunday.
In an ideal world the 49ers won’t need to throw as many blitzes at a QB to get pressure on them. However, the NFL is about adapting and San Francisco’s personnel dictates something has to be done differently with its defense.
Perhaps the blitzing sticks and they become a more blitz-heavy team. Perhaps they do something a little different each week where we see new wrinkles to the way they attack opposing offenses.
Whatever they did Sunday worked like a charm, though. The Patriots went at a paltry 3.5 yards per play and their lone touchdown came off a 49ers fumble that placed them at San Francisco’s 27 to start the drive.
So far, so good on the schematic adjustments on defense. Now they need to find the right button to push against a much better Arizona Cardinals offense in Week 5.