The 49ers’ defense has struggled to get stops the last three weeks. They’re allowing 35.3 points per game over their last three. That’s not going to earn a victory over the Seahawks with the NFC West on the line.
San Francisco’s defense has likely suffered too many injuries to reach the historically great form it found early in the year, but they’re still talented enough to string together stops against a banged up Seahawks offense.
These are the players on the 49ers defense that’ll have the biggest impact on Sunday’s game:
DE Nick Bosa
The 49ers’ stellar rookie has only one sack in his last four games. He’s still impacting opposing quarterbacks by collapsing the pocket and forcing throwaways, but he has to have his best game of the year Sunday. Seattle’s offensive line already struggles, and they’ll be without starting left tackle Duane Brown. Not only does Bosa have to stay disciplined getting after a mobile quarterback in Russell Wilson, but he has to be strong in the run game as well. Not collapsing early and surrendering the edge will be as vital as making sure Wilson doesn’t get comfortable. Bosa has played a ton of snaps this year, but a strong outing Sunday likely gets him and the 49ers week off heading into the postseason.
SS Marcell Harris
It looks like Harris will start again with Jaquiski Tartt officially ‘doubtful’ with a rib injury. Teams have gone right at Harris since he stepped into the starting strong safety role for Tartt. The results with Harris have been mixed, but Seattle has the personal to go right at the second-year sixth-round pick. They’ll use plenty of play action and look for tight end Jacob Hollister in the passing game to attack Harris. He has to stay disciplined on play action and ensure he’s communicating well in the secondary to limit big plays and blown coverages. He also has to have a strong game tackling against a run-heavy offense like Seattle. If Harris puts it all together, he could make a significant difference in a struggling 49ers secondary.
LB Fred Warner
There aren’t many linebackers in the league playing as well as Warner right now. He’s rapidly become the heartbeat and one of the emotional leaders of the 49ers’ defense since Kwon Alexander went down with a torn pectoral. He’s become as good against the run as he is in coverage, and doing both at a high level is vital against the Seahawks. His high football IQ will need to be on display as well against a talented Seattle offense. If he can blitz effectively, suss out some of their play action stuff and keep Russell Wilson from breaking off any long runs, it’ll give the 49ers a few additional stops they didn’t get against Seattle the first time.
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