Niner Noise
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Santa brought these Christmas gifts to 49ers fans this year

By Peter Panacy

Santa Claus walks onto the field before the game against the Minnesota Vikings and the Carolina Panthers (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Santa Claus walks onto the field before the game against the Minnesota Vikings and the Carolina Panthers (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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DeMeco Ryans, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans  Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

49ers Christmas gift No. 2: The NFL’s best defense

Christian McCaffrey might have sparked the Niners offense, yes, but let’s not kid ourselves. The top strength for San Francisco this season has been its defense.

Seriously, the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense. And that’s in scoring, yards, against the run and a bunch of other categories.

Naturally, the star players like EDGE Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner have made huge plays and deserve credit, but coordinator DeMeco Ryans is possibly the best gift of all for what he’s been able to engineer this season.

With the 49ers having dealt with a number of injury setbacks on offense, it has been the defense ensuring victories on almost a weekly basis.

Too bad that’s going to be a gift passed along to another team next year, as Ryans is all but guaranteed a head-coaching job elsewhere in 2023.