The San Francisco 49ers now own the top-ranked defense in the NFL. The unit ranks No. 1 in total yards allowed per game (248.0), passing yards allowed per game (136.9), and No. 2 in points allowed per game (14.8).
The 49ers defense suffocated quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers during Sunday night's 37-8 victory at Levi's Stadium. It was a dominating performance by defensive coordinator Robert Saleh's unit. You don't realize just how dominating it was until you look at some of the statistics from the game.
Saleh's defense held the Green Bay offense to just 198 net yards on 70 plays. That's 2.83 yards per play, the Packers' lowest average since December 17, 2015, against the Arizona Cardinals. For San Francisco, it was the lowest average allowed since November 19, 2012, against the Chicago Bears (2.55 yards per play). The Packers' net yards total was the fewest since December 3, 2017, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Then there was future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He was held to his lowest passing yards total (104) of the season. Even more impressive was Rodgers being held to 3.2 yards per attempt, the 15-year veteran's lowest average ever as an NFL starter.
"They are just relentless," tackle Mike McGlinchey said of the 49ers defense after the game. "They play 11 guys so strong, so complimentary of one another with the pass rush, the coverage, our linebackers. We are missing one of the best linebackers in football, and we have two rookies who are stepping up in Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair. It is a testament of what John (Lynch) and Kyle (Shanahan) have done in evaluating talent and people and who they are as people because that is important too.
"It is incredible to see how smothering all 11 guys can be and that is what they do week in and week out. They just shut down one of the best to ever play football in Aaron Rodgers, and that is pretty impressive."
The 49ers defense was dominant on third- and second-down efforts by the Packers offense, allowing Rodgers and company to convert just two of their 18 attempts on the night. According to NFL Research, San Francisco's defense held Green Bay to 0-for-10 on third and fourth down in the first half, the most attempts without a conversion by any team in an opening half in the last 20 NFL seasons.
Rodgers was sacked five times on Sunday night, which ties his highest single-game sack total this season (Week 1 at Chicago, Week 8 at Kansas City). San Francisco has now registered three-or-more sacks in eight consecutive games, a first for the franchise since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
The 49ers could use another dominating performance like that against the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. The two teams square off at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.