On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers put together a complete performance as they dismantled the Miami Dolphins at Levi's Stadium. While Brock Purdy stole most of the headlines, the Niner defense showed out on all levels.
Arguably most surprising was that safety Ji 'Ayir Brown led the team with 13 tackles. He only allowed one catch as the primary defender and produced a 67.7 PFF grade. His breakout performance only serves to highlight a slew of comments he made back in training camp, when he praised current defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, slighting former DC Robert Saleh in the process.
In a training camp presser, Brown showered Morris with unrequited love, explaining how the defensive playcaller lets his guys be "instinctive players." But he couldn't move on without mentioning how past coordinators failed to instill the same mindset.
Ji'Ayir Brown's comments are carrying more weight with every stellar 49ers defensive performance
Through two games, Brown appears to be enjoying a breakout campaign following the Robert Saleh era. His 72.2 PFF grade is a vast improvement from his rating of 58.5 last year.
In fact, it seems like the entire defensive unit is benefiting from the coaching change. Granted, it's important to note that Saleh didn't have his two best defensive weapons for most of 2025, but seemingly every individual defender appears to have vastly improved their game from one season to the next.
Meanwhile, Saleh's Titans have given up a combined 47 points to a pair of middling offenses. They gave up 23 points to Geno Smith and the Jets in Week 1 and allowed the Eagles to post 24 points in Week 2, even though both Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert were injured early in the contest.
49ers have clear opportunity to build on early defensive momentum
Morris looks to have rejuvenated the San Francisco defense, just as Brown had proclaimed back in August. Through two games, his unit has accrued four sacks and 13 QB hits, and they’ve allowed just 29 completions by opposing quarterbacks. In short, they have been a nightmare to pass against.
The 49ers are likely to continue their early success when they host the Arizona Cardinals next week. Arizona is coming off a divisional loss to the Seattle Seahawks in which they scored just seven points.
Assuming the red and gold take care of business, they will be riding high with both their offense and defense playing at elite levels. On the defensive side, Ji'Ayir Brown looks to build on his strong start, and he is likely thankful for the belief instilled in him by his new defensive coordinator.
Add us as a preferred source on Google