5 takeaways from 49ers dominant Week 14 victory over Buccaneers

49ers takeaway No. 3: Defense is doing all it can to get DeMeco Ryans a head coaching job

Another week, another dominant display by a San Francisco defense that continues to maul everyone in its path.

It’s certainly true that Tom Brady is no longer the dominant force he once was, but he’s still good enough to run the offense and smart enough to pick through holes in whatever defense he plays.

The 49ers didn’t give Brady time to get settled, and as a result, he was constantly under siege and unable to make much in the way of meaningful plays. Most of his stats came as a result of garbage time, with the game already well in hand.

EDGE Nick Bosa wasn’t his usual dominant self, which is perhaps expected as he was hurt all week and didn’t practice, but he almost got a sack as he chased down Brady from behind with only about a yard preventing his tackle from becoming yet another sack on his Defensive Player of the Year resume.

Indeed, the Niners shockingly didn’t record a sack at all, a truly misleading figure given how much Brady was struggling to get the ball out. Make no mistake, this was a defensive whitewash.

Brady was picked off twice, once by safety Tashaun Gipson on an overthrow (caused by yet more pressure) and the other by linebacker Dre Greenlaw who performed a sort of self-tip drill to snag the second. The 49ers also forced a fumble late in the game to be collected by linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.

On a selfish note, 49ers fans would love to see defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans return to the team in 2023, but the truth is he’s more than earned his spot to become a head coach somewhere in the offseason.

If/when that happens, we’ll wave him off and wish him well while looking back fondly on this No. 1 defense in the league that he forged.