NFC standings ordered by yards allowed: 49ers sit right near the bottom

The 49ers defense, thought to be elite, is ranking right toward the bottom of yards allowed per play, which is a concerning sign.

Through three weeks, the San Francisco 49ers boast one of the shakiest and inconsistent defenses in the entire league.

That's not even close to hyperbole.

Despite a plethora of All-Pro and Pro Bowl talent at all three levels, the Niners defense has given up a total of 25 points per game over the last two weeks, highlighted by a Week 3 fourth-quarter collapse against a banged-up Los Angeles Rams squad that revealed all kinds of problems for defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen.

True, it's early. And Sorensen's growing pains (they're there) are currently paralleling similar woes now-Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, one of the former's predecessors with San Francisco, experienced back in 2021.

That said, the 49ers defense can't be that bad, right?

Right?

According to one metric, the Niners defense is wholly failing and is playing like a bottom-five unit. Perhaps worse.

49ers near bottom of NFC standings in terms of yards allowed

It's not a tell-all number. But, typically speaking, good defenses limit the number of yards an opponent picks up on any given play.

Over the first three weeks, San Francisco is not good in this area. At all.

Let's take a look at the conference, ranking out the 16 NFC teams by average yards allowed per play:

1. Seattle Seahawks: 3.9
2. Minnesota Vikings: 4.7
3. Atlanta Falcons: 4.8
4. Chicago Bears: 4.9
5. Detroit Lions: 5.1
6. New York Giants: 5.2
7. Arizona Cardinals: 5.4
8. New Orleans Saints: 5.4
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5.5
10. Green Bay Packers: 5.5
11. Carolina Panthers: 5.7
12. Dallas Cowboys: 6.0
13. Philadelphia Eagles: 6.0
14. San Francisco 49ers: 6.1
15. Washington Commanders: 6.2 (does not include Week 3 -- Monday Night Football)
16. Los Angeles Rams: 6.8

A few troubling takeaways from the Niners being third from the bottom in this number.

For starters, it's embarrassing to lose to an LA squad that ranks dead last in the league in this category, suggesting San Francisco's own defense couldn't respond when it knew it'd be able to effective move the ball (and score) against a depleted Los Angeles team in a crucial divisional matchup.

Even worse, the division-rival Seahawks have demonstrated plenty of defensive prowess en route to their own 3-0 start, meaning the 49ers offense could be challenged aplenty when these two teams face each other in Week 6.

Sure, it's still early. And there's plenty of time for more data to even things out, potentially allowing for Sorensen and Co. to "get right."

However, the early trends are more than just a little alarming.

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