After 11 weeks, the San Francisco 49ers rank dead last in sacks with a mere 12.
Granted, this wasn't helped by the season-ending ACL tear suffered by All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa, the Niners' best pass-rusher, nor was it aided by a similar injury to rookie defensive end Mykel Williams. Plus, with edge Bryce Huff dealing with hamstring issues, it's not hard to understand why San Francisco is having a tough time getting to opposing quarterbacks.
That aspect was readily apparent during the 49ers' 41-22 victory over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday, a game in which the Niners dominated from the opening kickoff, quite literally.
Yet San Francisco's early big lead led to Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett dropping back to pass a whopping 57 times, completing an NFL-record 47 of them for 452 yards.
One might think the 49ers would have at least sacked Brissett once, given the sheer number of opportunities.
But they didn't.
And general manager John Lynch paid close attention to that figure.
John Lynch 'bothered' by 49ers' inability to sack Jacoby Brissett
Speaking during his weekly appearance on KNBR 680's Murph & Markus Show Thursday morning, Lynch was asked about the lack of a pass rush last week at Arizona.
And while the Niners still managed 13 pressures on the Cardinals signal-caller, they just couldn't bring him down.
"We've just got to continue to put ourselves in situations, and then finish them," Lynch responded. "Actually, you go back and watch that game, and I was a little bothered as the game was going on. You throw it 57 times, and we're not able to bring him down. First of all, I would say Brissett played a really good game within the pocket."
Additionally, San Francisco managed four quarterback hits despite the lack of sacks, and the defense also recorded three takeaways, including two interceptions, something it hadn't done all year up to this point.
Despite the stat sheet not reflecting a great pass rush, Lynch was nevertheless encouraged.
"The other thing I would say, probably the more important thing than sacks—sacks are a byproduct—are you around the quarterback? Are you pressuring him? And I thought we did pressure him," Lynch added. "When you go back and watch the film, sometimes you're surprised, and we were. Our guys rushed well. Now, we've got to do it a little better collectively. It's tying rush and coverage together."
The 49ers hope they can begin finishing some of those quarterback pressures when they host the 6-5 Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football in Week 12.
Hat tip to David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone for the transcription.