49ers grades, analysis from refreshing Week 8 win vs. Bears
By Peter Panacy
49ers Week 8 Grades: Defensive Line
Another one of the reasons why the Bears were able to have success on the ground was because the 49ers now find themselves without second-year defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, who’ll be done for the year with a knee injury. As much as Kinlaw has struggled in the pass-rush department, his run-stopping skills shouldn’t be undersold.
As a result, the Niners gave up an average of 4.9 yards per rush play, including this insane 22-yard scramble for a touchdown by Justin Fields that put nearly every San Francisco defender on roller skates:
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1454893919620124680
The 49ers defensive line frequently struggled to contain the elusive and mobile Fields, which has been a factor this unit has had problems with all season long.
But on the positive side, the Niners were still able to generate some penetration, albeit against a questionable Chicago offensive line, generating 10 tackles for a loss and picking up an additional four sacks on Fields.
EDGE Nick Bosa got two of those, and he’ll carry the weight of San Francisco’s pass rush, which was without fellow EDGE Dee Ford (concussion) in this game.
Fortunately, after not registering a sack all year to this point, reserve pass-rusher Samson Ebukam picked up his first sack of the season, too.
Not a terrible day for this unit, but it certainly wasn’t one of its best performances either.