The 49ers’ 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at SoFi Stadium has put San Francisco at the center of attention for all the wrong reasons.
Expected to contend, the 49ers are 1-2 after blowing a 14-point lead in Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season and falling victim to revenge by quarterback Brock Purdy’s backup from last season, Sam Darnold, and the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2.
NBC Sports Bay Area’s Donte Whitner rightfully is concerned. In the latest “Hitner’s Hot Take” segment, Whitner explained what worries him most about the 49ers.
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“After the 49ers squandered a 14-point advantage over the LA Rams on Sunday, I think it's finally time to hit the red button,” Whitner said after San Francisco lost Sunday. “Code Red! Code Red!
“And I'm putting this on the defense.”
San Francisco has plenty of issues, but its defensive struggles arguably are the most eye-opening thus far.
First-year defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen’s group is disjointed. The 49ers’ pass rush has been weak, and the secondary hasn’t risen to the occasion. The latest example came against the Rams, when the 49ers allowed the home team to generate just enough offense to win without some of its biggest names.
San Francisco 49ers
“I want to start with the 49ers’ defensive line,” Whitner said. “The inability to put consistent pressure on quarterbacks is bleeding into the secondary, and it's causing explosive plays. The inability to set the edge, get on and off of blocks and dominate at the point of attack is allowing running backs to seep into the second and third level and consistently fall forward.”
The 49ers have allowed 4.5 rushing yards per play and have generated just seven quarterback hurries. San Francisco’s interior has been exposed nearly a month into the season.
And to Whitner’s point, the D-line’s struggles negatively impact the subpar 49ers secondary.
“Looking at the 49ers' secondary early in this 2024 season, I would say that this is the most disappointing group on the team,” Whitner said. “They're consistently giving up explosive plays. The lack of communication and continuity on third down is costing the 49ers. They're lacking the continuity and the chemistry that it takes to be a top secondary in the National Football League.
“In order to get back to their championship ways, I need the 49ers' secondary to limit the big plays, communicate at a high level, and the final thing, you have to take the ball away -- zero takeaways in the first three games. There's a direct correlation between takeaways and wins.”
San Francisco’s secondary is off to a poor start. Cornerback Charvarius Ward, a Second-Team All-Pro last season, has been a shell of himself, and the entire group simply is out of sync.
Just on Sunday, the 49ers allowed Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to earn 221 yards -- with 73 more on a pair of pass interferences -- and a touchdown through the air without star wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. That can’t happen anymore for San Francisco.
Sorensen must make adjustments and quickly, considering San Francisco's high standards after firing Steve Wilks following just one season in the Bay.
Whitner, though, doesn’t attribute all of the defensive blame to those on the field. He brought up someone who hasn’t touched the field yet this season as a key reason for the 49ers’ lapses.
“When you look at the middle of the defense, of course, you have Fred Warner -- All-Pro Fred Warner does it all,” Whitner prefaced. “But they're missing Dre Greenlaw, [Warner’s] counterpart. They're missing his ability to play man coverage, add to the pass pressure and blitz the quarterback, his ability to run sideline to sideline and his ultra-physical style of play.”
Greenlaw still is sidelined after rupturing his Achilles tendon during San Francisco’s Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in February. His return potentially can help the 49ers' defense greatly.
But as Whitner emphasized, the 49ers are in “Code Red” entering their Week 4 matchup with the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium.
Of course, winning cures everything. San Francisco’s defense must step up sooner rather than later to get Whitner back on board.