Coming into Monday Night Football, it was known that the San Francisco 49ers were having trouble stopping the pass, but in recent weeks, they’ve also struggled to stop the run.
The 49ers have allowed 5.4 yards per carry and roughly 136 rushing yards per game over their previous three contests. And on Monday, San Francisco faced a major test in Jonathan Taylor, who entered the game with 1,443 rushing yards — second in the NFL — on 272 carries and 16 touchdowns this season for the Indianapolis Colts.
But the 49ers’ run defense rose to the occasion. Although Taylor scored on a goal-line rush in the fourth quarter, he was largely contained, finishing with just 46 yards on 16 carries — fewer than 2.9 yards per attempt.
Patrick Willis says he needs a ‘little bit more’ from the defense
Perhaps defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who is aiming for another head-coaching opportunity, took a suggestion from former 49ers great Patrick Willis. The Hall of Famer appeared earlier this week on The Grit Code Podcast and was asked for his analysis on the 49ers inability to stop the run in recent weeks.
“It starts in the trenches for sure, but there are times where you would like to see the young linebackers trigger a little bit,” Willis said. “You can tell they’re still trying to figure it out. I haven’t seen them make many plays. I’ve seen them make some tackles, but I haven’t seen them make the kind of plays that make you go into the game saying alright, we gotta keep our eye on those guys in the middle. So, I would like to see a little bit more out of them.”
Really, the only big play of the night was an interception by Dee Winters. Time will tell if the 49ers can continue stopping the run as they aim for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.