San Francisco 49ers: Defense Must Lead The Way Against Arizona

The San Francisco 49ers travel to the desert to square off with division rival Arizona and will need for their defense to step up and lead the way.

The San Francisco 49ers, for the first two games of the season, looked like a team that was lost. Or at least, a team that couldn’t find the endzone with the help of a map, compass and GPS unit. Last week though, their offense came alive to the tune of 39 points and 421 yards of total offense.

Unfortunately for San Francisco though, their defense gave up 41 points and 418 yards of total offense, narrowly losing their best shot at their first win on the season.

But, it’s a new week, a new game, and a new challenge. And they’ll be taking on an Arizona team that has plenty of issues of their own – issues that if the San Francisco defense can step up and take advantage of, can potentially lead to the win that so narrowly slipped through their fingers last week.

It’s a challenge made all the more difficult though, given how banged up the defense is at the moment.

Already out are linebacker Reuben Foster (ankle) and safety Eric Reid (knee). Defensive lineman Tank Carradine was put on injured reserve with an ankled injury. And still listed as questionable are safety Jaquiski Tartt and linebacker Brock Coyle – both suffering from concussions.

Which means, it’s vital that the 49ers win the battles up front. DeForest Buckner, Arik Armstead, Earl Mitchell, Solomon Thomas, Eli Harold, and NaVorro Bowman are going to have to control the line of scrimmage. And they are going to have to do something they haven’t done a lot of so far this year – put a tremendous amount of pressure on the opposing quarterback.

Through three games, the San Francisco defense has totaled three sacks. Three. They’re going to need more production out of their defensive front.

Next: 49ers: Week Three Wins And Losses

Fortunately for them, they’re facing an offensive line that’s given up 11 sacks through those same first three games – and has grown incredibly thin of late. Arizona has placed former 49er Mike Iuapati on the injured reserve with an elbow injury.

Also out for Arizona is guard Alex Boone with a pectoral injury. Guard John Wetzel is questionable with a pectoral injury and tackle D.J. Humphries, though probable, is dealing with a knee injury – one that could potentially limit his mobility.

Arizona is dinged pretty hard up front, which could give the 49ers a distinct advantage in the game. If they can capitalize on it.

Cardinal’s quarterback Carson Palmer has had a rough start to the season. He’s thrown for 925 yards on just a 56 percent completion rate. He’s also thrown four touchdowns against four interceptions – and has taken the aforementioned 11 sacks on the year.

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When he’s faced a heavy pass rush and frequent blitzes, Palmer has struggled. And as the injuries along Arizona’s offensive line have mounted, they’ve seen an increase in sacks. After giving up just one sack to the Lions (though pressure forced three Palmer interceptions), the Colts – yes, the Colts – got to Palmer four times in week two. And last week, Dallas dropped Palmer six times.

To put it bluntly, Arizona’s offensive line is not very good. Injuries have taken a toll and stretched them very thin. They’re very vulnerable to a heavy pass rush and blitzing.

And the Cardinals need Palmer to make their offense go. Without David Johnson, their ground game is virtually non-existent, averaging an incredibly anemic 59 yards per game.

Arizona is leaning heavily on Palmer and the passing game, which means, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh had best dial up some looks to get San Francisco defenders in Palmer’s face and keep them there.

With the injuries to the back end of the defense, knocking Palmer off his rhythm becomes that much more important. And because we don’t know what sort of output we’re going to get from Brian Hoyer and the offense — and frankly, shouldn’t really count on it — it’s up to the defense to take control of this game from the jump.

In an ideal world, we’ll see the kind of offensive performance we saw last week against the Rams, and the sort of defensive performance we saw in week one against Carolina. But this is far from an ideal world.

Which means, the 49ers defense would be far better off leaving nothing to chance and seizing control of this game from the start. If they can knock Palmer off his game and smother him, they very well could put themselves in line for their first win of the year.