49ers making habit of flustering opposing quarterbacks in 2019

While the San Francisco 49ers are supposed to be built around their offense in 2019, it’s their defense stealing the show so far, mainly by frustrating opposing quarterbacks.

Opposing quarterbacks aren’t having a good time playing the San Francisco 49ers this season.

In virtually every game of the Niners’ perfect 5-0 start in 2019, opponents’ signal-callers have found themselves flustered by what’s been an excellent four-man pass rush. In turn, the pass rush has allowed seven players to frequently drop back into coverage, making up for many of the concerns fans had about what was viewed as a questionable secondary entering this year.

As a result, San Francisco is surrendering an average of just 150.2 pass yards per game, which ranks tops in the NFL through six weeks.

And those quarterbacks the 49ers have faced this year aren’t exactly having the best of times, either. Check out the numbers:

• Buccaneers’ Jameis Winston: 194 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs, 45.4 passer rating
• Bengals’ Andy Dalton: 311 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 90.5 passer rating
• Steelers’ Mason Rudolph: 174 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 81.4 passer rating
• Browns’ Baker Mayfield: 100 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs, 13.4 passer rating
• Rams’ Jared Goff: 78 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, 60.8 passer rating

Dalton, who had the best performance against San Francisco, stat-wise, managed to put the bulk of his numbers up in the fourth quarter after the 49ers already had a commanding 41-10 lead and put in their reserves. So those stats have to be taken with a grain of salt.

Meanwhile, Rudolph enjoyed playing being one of the best offensive lines in the league — Pittsburgh’s O-line was ranked No. 1 in the league in pass protection entering Week 6, according to Football Outsiders. Yet the Niners still managed to sack him twice.

But San Francisco’s efforts against Mayfield and Goff, two former No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks, are the most signature ones.

Check out Mayfield’s passing chart against the 49ers on Monday Night Football, courtesy of NextGen Stats:

Hint: It’s not good.

Out of Mayfield’s eight completions, half of them were at or behind the line of scrimmage, which indicates the 49ers were getting home quickly.

EDGE Nick Bosa was a primary reason why, as he picked up five tackles, two of which were for a loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, two sacks and a whopping five quarterback hits. According to Pro Football Focus, Bosa has a pass-rush productivity mark of 14.3. That ranks second among all qualifying edge rushers, and not just rookies.

Impressive.

Goff, meanwhile, endured the worst game of his pro career, as his 78 yards passing marked a new low for Los Angeles’ franchise signal-caller.

While he didn’t throw an interception against the 49ers, all one needs to do is check out his NextGen Stats chart from Week 6 to see how much he struggled:

Every completion was within 10 yards, and San Francisco did an excellent job blanketing his down-the-field targets, also forcing the Rams to go a combined 0-of-13 on third- and fourth-down conversion attempts.

Sure, one could make the argument the 49ers haven’t faced a quarterback in the middle of his stride yet. Winston has been up and down all year, while Dalton’s 2019 82.8 passer rating is the lowest it has been since his rookie 2011 season. Rudolph was making only his second pro-level start, so that’s something to consider.

And neither Mayfield nor Goff have impressed this season, either.

That said, the Niners are doing more than just containing these quarterbacks. They’re embarrassing them, especially the last two.

The numbers back it up and then some.