The San Francisco 49ers got the win over the Denver Broncos last Sunday. It was a gritty win that seemingly inspired a pretty significant coaching shakeup in Denver as head coach Sean Payton took over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Davis Webb.
It's not as if Denver's offense has been completely horrible all season, either. The offense was at least respectable in a 30-26 win over the Los Angeles Rams, but the rest of the season the Broncos have been unable to eclipse 15 points, so a change was bound to come, especially since Payton is used to calling plays.
Denver was held to just 14 points against San Francisco's defense, which received a very spirited performance from linebacker Dre Greenlaw. He clearly felt slighted by Payton after his tenure with the Broncos last season.
49ers overwhelmed Broncos into drastic change moving forward
The entire defense deserves credit as they held the Broncos in check pretty much all game. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris did an outstanding job getting pressure on quarterback Bo Nix, which was clearly a weakness heading into the contest.
Morris is proving that Robert Saleh may not have been the key to San Francisco's defense after all, as the defense has played well in three of the team's first four games, with the one "bad" performance coming against the Arizona Cardinals. However, much of the Cardinals' production came in garbage time..
Still, the fact that the defense has been this good overall is impressive when one considers all of the injuries to the defensive line. Nick Bosa has been out multiple weeks, Mykel Williams has yet to play, and Alfred Collins is out for the year.
That speaks to the play-calling of Morris as well as the talent on defense, which has been playing with fire and tenacity. Having Fred Warner back making plays has been an extremely welcome sight as well.
49ers must take inspired defensive effort into Seattle in Week 5
Now the Niners have their toughest task yet as they take on the Seattle Seahawks. Bosa will still be out, but like Bo Nix, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold really struggles when he is under pressure, so Morris is going to have to get creative to find ways to put pressure on the former 49ers backup.
San Francisco's defense is a confident group, though. They have a good mix of younger players and veterans, and with Williams set to return against Seattle, the defensive line is going to get a big shot in the arm.
They have a feather in their cap by forcing Payton to reassert his control over the offense, but now they have to shut down a Seattle offense that has some explosive playmakers.
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