The San Francisco 49ers are 2-0, and the defense led by Robert Saleh is a big reason why.
Injuries and questionable performances on the offensive side of the ball made these victories hard-fought and, at times, in question.
Week 1 saw the Niners get behind the 8-ball a bit thanks to two Brock Purdy interceptions and the run game's inability to get anything going against the Seattle Seahawks' defensive front. San Francisco rallied back from a 10-7 deficit at halftime to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
Still, Seattle would get the ball back with 1:34 left in the fourth quarter and drive down deep into 49ers territory with a chance to steal the game away. Sam Darnold would drop back from San Francisco's 9-yard line, only to be sacked by Nick Bosa, who also forced a fumble and recovered the ball to seal the deal for the 49ers.
In Week 2, things looked even more difficult as the Niners were without Purdy, George Kittle, and a plethora of receivers who typically reside at the top of the depth chart.
With Mac Jones making his first 49ers start against the New Orleans Saints, San Francisco jumped out to an early lead thanks to his unexpectedly good performance with a depleted supporting cast. Despite that, New Orleans made a run in the second half, and once again, it was Saleh's defense that was tasked with shutting the door.
And shut the door, it did, thanks to another strip sack, this time from Bryce Huff, on a crucial 4th-and-1 to seal the deal on the 26-21 victory.
49ers are 2-0 in large part to Robert Saleh's defense
There are two guiding principles of Saleh's defensive philosophy. The first is bend, but don't break in coverage. The second is to get home with just four rushers, thus aiding the coverage efforts down the field.
One tenet begets the other, and in order to support his pass rush's relentless onslaught, a heavy defensive line rotation is utilized to avoid having to blitz very often. That's much easier when one has a deep D-line, as Saleh did in his first stint as the 49ers' defensive coordinator.
The talent at Saleh's disposal might not be as deep, but he does have a true star in Bosa and one of the game's best pass-rush specialists in the league in Huff, who thrived under Saleh's tutelage in New York with the Jets.
Saleh's strategy had both of these fearsome pass-rushers rested and fresh with the game on the line, proving that he not only managed the defense perfectly to keep San Francisco in these games, but he had them poised to close them out.
Rewind one year ago when the 49ers defense would regularly flounder late under then-coordinator Nick Sorensen, and Saleh's presence has turned into a welcomed relief.
Bosa and Huff effectively ending these first two games in shockingly similar manners is the biggest reason the Niners are 2-0, and is exactly how Saleh drew it up. If San Francisco is able to weather this early-season injury storm on the offensive side of the ball, Saleh and the defense will be the major reason why and a key to the 49ers having a bounce-back 2025.