The 49ers began the 2019 season with a ferocious pass rush that spearheaded a historically great pass defense.
During the second half of the season though, that pass rush didn’t just regress — it cratered. San Francisco averaged 4.0 sacks per game in the first 11 contests, to averaging 0.8 sacks over their final five games. The 49ers had four sacks combined over the final five weeks after posting four or more in seven of their first 11 games.
Their pressure rate was a little better than those sack totals indicate, but the pass rush wasn’t the overwhelming force of nature over those final five weeks. They went from allowing 136.9 passing yards per game to allowing 240.2, and it directly coincides with the declining pass rush production.
Luckily for the 49ers, they’re on track to get three key players back from injury for the postseason. That includes strong safety Jaquiski Tartt, linebacker Kwon Alexander, and perhaps most importantly, defensive end Dee Ford.
Ford was the 49ers’ first step in bolstering their pass rush. They sent a 2020 second-round pick to the Chiefs in exchange for the defensive end during the 2019 offseason. Then they signed him to a five-year deal worth up to $85 million with $33.3 million guaranteed.
While hamstring injuries have limited his availability, Ford’s impact when he has been on the field has been massive.
Josh Dubow of the Associated Press tweeted that the 49ers’ pressure rate with Ford on the field was 32 percent. That number plummeted to 24.8 with Ford off the field.
Unsurprisingly, that increased pressure rate with Ford on the field culminated in a much higher sack rate. Rich Hribar of Sharp Football Analysis tweeted that San Francisco’s sack rate with Ford was 16.2 percent. Without him that number fell to 5.4 percent.
That massive difference in pressure and sack rate sends ripple effects through the entire defense. Comfortable quarterbacks that get time to survey the field are often going to make easy work of even the best secondaries. Quarterbacks that’re constantly under duress have a much more difficult time finding open receivers. It’s not a difficult or complicated concept, but the 49ers presented a dramatic version of it this season.
Even if Ford returns in a limited fashion where he plays on passing downs, he’ll have a dramatic impact Saturday and through whatever postseason games the 49ers play. If their pass rush returns to the form it had earlier in the season, they’ll be very difficult to beat.