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What worked, what didn’t from the 49ers defense in Week 5 vs. Cardinals

By Jeremy Wohlfart

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 07: Christian Kirk #13 of the Arizona Cardinals is tackled by Adrian Colbert #27 of the San Francisco 49ers after a catch during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on October 7, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 07: Christian Kirk #13 of the Arizona Cardinals is tackled by Adrian Colbert #27 of the San Francisco 49ers after a catch during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on October 7, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – OCTOBER 07: Christian Kirk #13 of the Arizona Cardinals is tackled by Adrian Colbert #27 of the San Francisco 49ers after a catch during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on October 7, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – OCTOBER 07: Christian Kirk #13 of the Arizona Cardinals is tackled by Adrian Colbert #27 of the San Francisco 49ers after a catch during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on October 7, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco 49ers were all over the Arizona Cardinals on the stat sheet in Week 5 but couldn’t make it count in one of the most frustrating losses in recent memory.

After taking a look at what they did on the offensive side of the ball, we now proceed to the defensive part of the segment for Week 5 and the San Francisco 49ers‘ frustrating 28-18 loss at home to the previously winless Arizona Cardinals.

The defense, aside from one play we’ll get to, actually played reasonably well. This unit frustrated rookie Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen for most of the game, largely held running back David Johnson in check and allowed Arizona just 10 first downs over the four quarters.

Pretty good for San Francisco, right?

Sadly, not well enough at home against a team that was 0-4 before playing the 49ers.

Frustration aside, let’s take a look.

What worked

Richard Sherman

No. 1 cornerback Richard Sherman has been nothing short of perfect since coming to the 49ers. His efforts in Week 5 did nothing to dampen that momentum.

Sherman was targeted twice but did not give up a completion. So far he’s clamped down on his receivers giving up only one catch so far, according to Pro Football Focus:

Sadly, not all defenders are Sherman.

Pass defense

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If you take away the long touchdown bomb right at the beginning, the 49ers kept Rosen to only 9-of-24 passing and only 95 yards.

Rosen is only a rookie and it’s not exactly the biggest statement to shut him down, but it is a step in the right direction.

The whole defense as a whole

This is kind of cheating. But after so much complaining about the defense, I thought it was only fair to praise them for their best outing so far.

Sure, it wasn’t exactly against the strongest team in the NFL, but you have to start a positive step somewhere.

The Niners did well against both the pass and the run. And even though getting to the quarterback is still a problem, they are at least pressuring a bit.