One of the hallmarks of the 49ers defense is their ability to limit explosive plays. They do that via a stout run defense, a strong pass rush and disciplined coverage that forces quarterbacks to take short throws where a fast, instinctual group in the second level can rally to the ball and tackle.
While explosive plays were a small problem for this group last season, they’ve shut the faucet off under new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.
Nate Tice of the Athletic tweeted out a remarkable stat about San Francisco’s explosive plays allowed, where an “explosive” is defined as a run of 12-plus yards and a pass of 16-plus yards. The 49ers have allowed such plays on only 4.76 percent of their snaps – a low through four weeks since the league went to 32 teams in 2002.
It’s worth noting that the 49ers haven’t played many explosive offenses. The Steelers, Giants and Cardinals have all had their struggles on that side of the ball, while the Rams are working without their best wide receiver.
Still, even in blowouts they’ve not lost focus and surrendered many big plays. It’s also their ability to limit those big plays that they’ve never really gotten a scare in four games.
So, when have teams managed to actually rip off a big play against San Francisco’s defense? We dug through the play-by-play of each game to come up with all the instances of teams gaining 12-plus yards on a run or 16-plus yards on a pass vs. the 49ers this season: