The 49ers defense has allowed 276 total passing yards and intercepted five passes over the last four games. Three of the five interceptions came last week against Carolina, and the defense will look to continue that trend against an Arizona offense that features rookie quarterback Kyler Murray in head coach Kliff Kingbury’s scheme that passes just over 60 percent of the time.
Here are the six players to watch on the 49ers’ defense Thursday night:
DL Nick Bosa
Bosa is coming off the best game of his young career. He had three sacks, four tackles, and an interception against the Panthers. The No. 2 overall pick has been the 49ers’ best pass rusher this season, and will enter Thursday night with some extra motivation. He was passed on by one team en route to being the No. 2 overall pick in April’s draft: the Arizona Cardinals, which hosts the 49ers on Thursday. Bosa will look to show what the Cardinals passed on in his first career game against Arizona.
CB Richard Sherman
Sherman is having his best season in terms of interceptions since 2016, and with an interception on Thursday, would be on pace to match his career-high of eight. However, the interceptions aren’t the whole story for the veteran cornerback. According to Pro Football Focus, Sherman has only allowed 143 yards when targeted, and is allowing .67 yards per coverage snap. That’s second-best among all outside cornerbacks. Sherman will see a combination of Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk on Thursday, both solid receivers who will be different tests for Sherman.
DL Arik Armstead
What a season Armstead is having. He recorded two more sacks Sunday against Carolina to put himself at 5.5 sacks for the season. Armstead will have a chance to add to his career-high Thursday against an Arizona offensive line that has allowed 27 sacks on the season, the sixth-most in the league.
CB Emmanuel Moseley
Just like Justin Skule on the offense, Moseley could be making his last start Thursday. Starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon is close to returning from his foot injury and should be good to go in Week 10 vs. Seattle. He recorded his first career interception against Carolina on Sunday when he snatched a pass from Kyle Allen. Arizona throws the ball 36.6 times per game, which is eighth-most in the league. Moseley could have plenty of chances to add to his interception total.
DT D.J. Jones
Jones saw a season-high 39 snaps Sunday after battling an injury that kept him out of the game in Washington. He finished with a career-high five tackles and recorded his first-career sack when he exploded past the left guard to drag down quarterback Kyle Allen. Jones is definitely trending upward since his strong preseason, so it’ll be something to watch to see what his snap count is and how productive he is against a pass-heavy offense.
LB Fred Warner
Kenyan Drake will be making his debut for the Cardinals against the 49ers after Arizona made a swap with Miami for the running back. He will face a tough challenge against Warner and the 49ers defense. Warner was able to bounce back after a rough game in Washington to finish with a team-high six tackles against Carolina. He was huge in the run defense against Christian McCaffrey, recording three of his six tackles on runs by the MVP candidate with the longest run going for just eight yards. Drake will look to make a strong first impression in his first game for Arizona, and Warner will play a role in making sure he doesn’t.
