49ers have a glaring issue in their secondary

RC Nazemi

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49ers have a glaring issue in their secondary image

The story of the year for the San Francisco 49ers has, without a doubt, been the injury bug they’ve seemed to catch. In the past, it’s been Christian McCaffrey struggling to stay healthy, but now it seems as though he’s the only one who can remain healthy. 

More: 49ers suffer another devastating loss to the defense in Week 9 win vs. Giants

Somehow, the 49ers have kept their heads down and kept finding ways to win despite all these injuries. Sitting at 6-4, they’re currently right on the cusp of a playoff spot with seven games left to play. There is little to no room for error.

If they hope to win enough games to squeak into the playoffs, while yes, the injuries are tough, that is not their most significant concern at the moment. 

It’s not just the secondary; it’s one specific player.

Besides injuries, you can easily look at some of the failures of the season defensively and point to the secondary. They’ve been one of the worst units in the league. 

In the 2025-26 season, the San Francisco defense ranks: 

  • 29th in opposing passer rating (105.1)
  • 27th in passing TDs allowed (19)
  • 26th in total passing yards allowed (2,288)
  • 24th in completion % allowed (67.8%)

With numbers like those and an injury list like theirs, it’s actually quite impressive that the team has won as many games as they have. One significant reason for the secondary's dysfunction, aside from injury, has been the poor performance of third-year safety Ji’Ayir Brown. 

While he has avoided the injury bug that has haunted the team and played in all 10 games, that might be to the detriment of the defense. 

So far this season, some of his miscues include: seven missed tackles, a 115.5 passer rating allowed, 12 receptions allowed, zero interceptions tallied, and zero sacks recorded despite being used to blitz on a regular basis. 

If the 49ers faithful thought the loss of star safety Talanoa Hufanga was rough, it looks even worse now. If San Francisco looks to make a playoff push, Brown will need to be better. 

 

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Senior Editor